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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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CHINA 

YESTERDAY  AND  TODAY 


“And  I  may  tell  you  that  in  acquiring  this  knowledge  he  spent 
those  various  parts  of  the  World  good  six-and- twenty  years.” 

— Prologue  to  the  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/chinayesterdaytoOOwill_0 


DUKE  YEN,  LINEAL  DESCENDANT  OF  CONFUCIUS  IN  76th  GENERATION. 


f — —* 


CHINA 

YESTERDAY  AND  TO-DAY 


EDWARD  THOMAS  WILLIAMS 

Agassiz  Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  and  Literature,  University 
of  California;  Formerly  American  Charge  d'  Affaires,  at 
Peking,  China;  Recently  Chief  of  the  Division  of 
Far  Eastern  Affairs,  Department  of  State. 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1923 

By  THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


MY  WIFE 


§&itkhv  Williams 

WHOSE  ENCOURAGEMENT  AND  ASSISTANCE 
HAVE  MADE  POSSIBLE  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  THIS  VOLUME 
IT  IS  AFFECTIONATELY 

INSCRIBED 


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PREFACE 


Our  interest  in  a  foreign  land  fastens  itself  chiefly  upon 
those  features  in  which  it  differs  from  our  own.  When  the 
writer  first  went  to  China  he  was  told  by  Chinese  acquaint¬ 
ances  that  all  foreigners  looked  alike.  He  replied  that  to 
him  all  Chinese  were  so  alike  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  could  tell  one  from  another.  In  both  cases,  of  course,  it 
was  the  peculiarities  of  physiognomy  and  costume,  shared 
in  the  main  by  all  those  of  one  nationality,  that  attracted 
the  notice  of  men  of  the  other  nationality.  The  Chinese, 
however,  are  more  uniform  than  Europeans  in  color  and 
facial  features,  although  there  is  considerable  difference 
between  the  people  of  the  northern  and  those  of  the  south¬ 
ern  provinces  in  physiognomy. 

To  most  people  in  the  Western  World  China  is  a  far¬ 
away  land  of  such  strange  customs  that  one  is  inclined  to 
believe  very  readily  tales  told  concerning  its  inhabitants 
that  have  no  real  foundation  in  fact.  But  we  do  rightly 
think  of  it  as  a  land  of  mighty,  walled  cities,  of  lofty 
pagodas,  of  quaint,  curved  temple  roofs,  resting  upon 
brilliantly  colored  bracket  cornices,  of  curious  costumes  and 
strange  products ; — precious  silks  and  satins,  fragrant  teas, 
beautiful  porcelains  and  lacquered  wares.  We  may  think 
of  it,  too,  as  a  sort  of  topsy-turvy dom,  where  one’s  surname 
comes  first  and  personal  name  last,  where  your  friend  when 
he  meets  you  shakes  his  own  hand  rather  than  yours,  where 
left,  not  right,  is  the  side  of  honor,  where  one  begins  to 
read  at  the  back  of  the  book  and  at  the  right  side  rather 
than  the  left  side  of  the  page  and  finds  the  foot-notes  at  the 
top  of  the  page.  It  is  a  land  where  dessert  comes  first  at 
the  feast  and  soup  last,  where  the  male  man  dresses  in  silk 


Vll 


Preface 


•  •  • 

vm 

and  satin  gowns  of  brilliant  hues,  and  where,  until  the 
recent  revolution,  all  men  wore  their  hair  in  long  braids, 
and  the  highest  officials  decorated  their  hats  with  peacock 
plumes  and  tassels,  had  strings  of  beads  about  their  necks 
and  carried  fans  in  their  hands,  while  on  the  other  hand 
many  women  were  seen  on  the  streets  in  jacket  and  trousers. 

These  peculiarities  of  costume  and  custom  and  others 
that  might  be  mentioned  were  universal  features  of  Chinese 
civilization  until  the  revolution  of  1911. 

Since  that  time  China  has  been  undergoing  a  great 
change.  Architecture  and  dress  are  becoming  Europeanized, 
and  social  conditions  are  in  flux.  When  you  receive  a 
Chinese  gentleman’s  card  to-day  you  can  not  tell  in  many 
cases  whether  the  first  or  the  last  character  represents  his 
surname.  Some  adhere  to  the  old  custom  and  others  have 
adopted  the  Western  style.  An  old  gentleman  of  conserva¬ 
tive  tastes  will  remove  his  spectacles  when  he  talks  with  you 
and  will  shake  his  own  hands  in  salutation,  but  a  young 
man  of  progressive  spirit  will  stare  at  you  through  his 
glasses  and  hold  out  his  hand  to  take  yours  in  greeting. 

Not  all  change  is  progress,  but  for  good  or  ill,  China  is 
changing.  The  social  and  political  transformation  that  is 
taking  place  is  the  result  of  a  struggle  between  two  great 
civilizations,  those  of  the  East  and  the  West.  The  author 
has  endeavored  to  show  that  these  two  civilizations  had  a 
common  origin.  In  their  development,  however,  they  took 
divergent  courses.  After  ages  of  separation  they  have  met. 
To-day  in  the  Orient  they  strive  together  for  mastery.  To 
describe  this  struggle,  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  review 
briefly  the  history  of  the  intercourse  between  China  and  the 
West.  The  contest  during  the  past  century  has  for  China 
been  a  losing  one.  The  West  has  won  victory  after  victory, 
but  the  end  is  not  yet.  The  effects  of  the  struggle  have  be¬ 
come  most  noticeable  during  the  past  thirty  years,  and  the 
events  of  these  years  have  therefore  been  given  more  de¬ 
tailed  consideration  in  this  volume. 

The  writer  lived  in  China  before  the  tendency  to  change 
became  marked.  He  witnessed  the  downfall  of  the  Manchu 


Preface 


IX 


Dynasty  and  the  establishment  of  the  Republic,  and  saw 
initiated  the  great  reforms  which  have  wrought  such  havoc 
with  old-time  manners  and  conditions.  This  volume  is  the 
outgrowth  of  his  experiences  and  observations  in  thirty-five 
years  of  close  association  with  Chinese  affairs,  supplemented 
by  such  research  as  a  very  busy  life  would  permit.  The 
aim  kept  constantly  in  view  in  preparing  the  book  has 
been  to  describe  the  China  of  the  past  and  the  present,  the 
China  of  yesterday  as  contrasted  with  the  China  of  to-day. 

It  is  impossible  for  men  not  to  err,  and  the  author  cannot 
hope  to  have  entirely  escaped  all  mistakes.  There  may  be 
instances  in  which  he  has  unintentionally  described  as  uni¬ 
versal  certain  customs  which  were  known  only  in  the  regions 
with  which  he  is  familiar,  and  there  may  be  other  cases 
in  which  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  are  much  greater 
or  less  than  as  described. 

For  the  translations  from  the  Chinese  he  holds  himself  re¬ 
sponsible  unless  otherwise  acknowledged.  But  he  has  not 
hesitated  to  avail  himself  of  the  assistance  given  by  the 
work  already  done  by  others.  He  gladly  acknowledges  his 
debt  to  the  monumental  work  of  Dr.  Legge  in  his  transla¬ 
tion  of  the  Chinese  Classics.  The  beautiful  translation 
which  Professor  Soothill  has  given  of  the  Analects  of 
Confucius,  and  especially  the  valuable  collection  of  notes  in 
the  commentary  accompanying  it,  have  been  of  great  service. 
Acknowledgment  is  made  also  of  assistance  derived  from  the 
French  translation  of  the  Shih  Chi  by  the  late  Edouard 
Chavannes,  and  of  the  French  translations  of  Buddhist  and 
Taoist  works  by  Pere  Wieger.  Other  acknowledgments 
are  made  in  place. 

E.  T.  W. 

Berkeley,  California, 

January  13,  1923. 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  What  is  China? . 1 


Territorial  Boundaries — Tibet — Outer  Mongolia — 
Manchuria — Former  Extent  of  Dominion — Present 
Day  China — Turkestan — Manchuria — China  Proper — 
Northern  Provinces — The  Yangtze  Valley — The 
Southern  Provinces  —  Fukien  —  Kuangtung  —  The 
Three  South-Western  Provinces — Mountain  Systems 
— Sacred  Mountains — The  Rivers — The  Coast  Line — 

The  Plains — Lakes — Deserts — Climate — Flood  and 
Famine. 

II.  The  Beginnings  of  China . 32 

Cause  of  Migration — Pumpelly’s  Exploration — Desic¬ 
cation  of  Central  Asia — The  Sumerians — Chinese 
Emigrants — The  Chinese  are  Townsmen — Testimony 
of  the  Ancient  Records — Objections  to  the  Theory  of 
a  Western  Origin  for  the  Chinese — The  Western 
Mountains — Fable  and  Superstition — Value  of  the 
Shan  Hai  King — Migration  of  Huang  Ti — Other 
Migrations — Growth  of  the  Chinese  State. 

III.  The  Family . 54 

Family  Solidarity — Patria  Potestas— Infanticide — 
Inheritance — The  Clan — Vicarious  Punishment — In¬ 
dividualism — Ancestor  Worship  and  Morals — Family 
Government  and  Democracy — Relationship. 

IV.  Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  .  .  .  .  70 

Religious  Sanction — Monogamy  and  Concubinage — 
Lawful  Bigamy — Betrothal — The  Horoscope  and  the 
Wedding  Day — The  Wedding  Ceremony  —  The 
Status  of  Woman — Divorce — Impediments  to  Mar¬ 
riage — Widows — Women  of  the  Convents. 

V.  The  Farmer . 86 

The  Farmer’s  Patron  Saint — The  Country  Village — 
Poverty  of  the  Peasants — A  Model  Farm — Land 
Tenure — Taxation — Methods  of  Cultivation  —  Prod¬ 
ucts — Sericulture — The  Opium  Poppy — Dye  Plants — 
Insect  Wax — The  Tea  Plant — Water  Farming — 
Poultry — Agricultural  Implements — Market  Days — 
Agricultural  Distress. 


xi 


Contents 


xii 

CHAPTER 

VI. 


VII. 


VIII. 


IX. 


X. 


XI. 


XII. 


The  Village  Republic . 

Mutual  Responsibility — The  Tithing — Village  Elders 
— Police — Brigandage — The  Village  Inn — The  Night 
Watchman — Caring  for  the  Streets  and  Roads — The 
Village  Court — The  Tea  House — The  Village  Temple 
— The  Guest  House — The  Village  School — The 
Theater — Taking  the  Census — Collecting  Taxes. 

The  City . 

Classifications  of  Cities — The  Walls — General  Ap¬ 
pearance  of  Cities — The  Streets — Homes — Recreation 
Grounds  —  The  City  Temple  —  Street  Sights  and 
Sounds — Street  Lighting — The  Water  Supply — Other 
Public  Utilities — Volunteer  Associations — Municipal 
Government — The  County  Magistrate — Tax  Collec¬ 
tion — The  Coroner — Public  Charities — Administra¬ 
tive  Courts — The  Prison. 

The  Craftsman . 

Industrial  Revolution — Local  Crafts — Rug  Making — 
Cloisonne  —  Carved  Lacquer — Jade  Cutting  —  Brass 
Workers —  Shantung  Wares —  Lace-Making —  Porce¬ 
lain — Tea  Firing — Fans  and  Ink — Pewter  Ware — 
Candle  Making — Bean  Curd — Jewelry — Fire  Crackers 
— The  Wheel-Barrow — Silk — Dyes — Weaving — Cotton 
— The  Steam  Engine — Evil  Effects  of  Western  In¬ 
ventions — Municipal  Improvement. 

The  Guilds . 

The  Craft  Guilds — The  Merchant  Guilds — Provincial 
Guilds — Community  Guilds — The  Guild  and  the  Gov¬ 
ernment. 

The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals . 

The  College  of  Astronomy — The  Almanac — Eclipses 
— Celebration  of  New  Year’s  Day — The  Lantern 
Festival — The  Ch’ing  Ming — The  Dragon  Boat  Fes¬ 
tival — The  Herd  Boy  and  Weaver  Maid — All  Souls 
Festival — The  Moon’s  Birthday — The  Ninth  Moon 
Feast — The  Birthday  of  the  Republic — The  Winter 
Solstice. 

Confucius  and  His  Teaching . 

Time  and  Place  of  Birth — Family  Traditions — His 
Own  Estimate  of  His  Character — His  Visit  to  the 
Capital — Conditions  of  the  Empire — His  Official 
Career — His  Exile — His  Literary  Work — His  Death 
and  Canonization. 

Confucianism  in  the  Home . 

The  Sacred  Books  —  Private  Worship  —  Ancestral 
Temples — Rites  at  the  Grave — Worship  at  Winter 
Solstice. 


PAGE 

118 


137 


164 


187 


205 


223 


249 


Contents 


CHAPTER 

XIII.  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  . 

The  State  Religion — The  Beings  Worshiped — Loca¬ 
tions  of  Temples  and  Altars— Times  of  Worship- 
Manner  of  Worship — Symbolism — Meaning  of  Sac¬ 
rifice — The  Temple  of  Heaven — Worship  at  Other 
Shrines  —  Attempts  to  Revive  Confucianism  —  The 
Ethics  of  Confucianism. 

XIV.  Chinese  Buddhism . 

The  Buddhist  Legend — Buddhist  Ethics — Buddhist 
Propaganda — Amidhism — The  Goddess  of  Mercy — 
Bodhidharma — Lamaism — Transmigration  — Temples 
and  Services  —  Lay  Membership  —  Initiation  into 
Monkhood — Influence  of  Buddhism  in  China — Bud¬ 
dhist  Charities — Reformed  Buddhism — Attitude  To¬ 
ward  Militarism. 

XV.  Taoism . 

The  Tao  Te  King — Lao  Tzu's  Political  Philosophy — 
His  Ethics — Chuang  Tzu — The  Elixir  of  Immortality 
— The  Philosopher's  Stone — The  Origin  of  Alchemy 
— The  Isles  of  the  Blessed — Taoism  as  a  Religion — 
The  Pantheon — Evil  Effects  of  Taoism. 

XVI.  Early  Foreign  Intercourse . 

The  Influence  of  Greece — Commerce  with  Rome — 
The  Arabs  in  China — Relations  with  Japan — The 
First  Christian  Missionaries — Control  of  the  Trade 
— Portugal  and  China — The  Dutch  and  the  Chinese 
— Spain  and  China — The  Arrival  of  the  British — 
The  Russian  Advance  in  the  Orient — The  Beginning 
of  American  Relations. 

XVII.  Opening  the  Gates  of  China . 

Macartney 's  Embassy — Amherst  ?s  Mission — Chinese 
Arrogance — The  Breaking  Point — The  First  Ameri¬ 
can  Treaty  with  China — The  Second  War  with  Great 
Britain — Opium  in  the  Treaties  of  1858. 

XVIII.  The  Apotheosis  of  an  American . 

The  Shrine  of  General  Ward — The  Origin  of  the 
Taiping  Rebellion — Taiping  Success — The  Attitude 
of  the  Western  Powers — Ward ’s  Services — Posthu¬ 
mous  Honors  Conferred — Successors  to  Ward — The 
End  of  the  Rebellion. 

XIX.  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

The  Maritime  Customs  Service  —  A  Diplomatic 
Service — The  Treaty  of  1868 — Exclusion  of  Chinese 
— Japanese  Immigration — Recent  Legislation — Rea¬ 
sons  for  Exclusion — Labor  and  Wages  in  the  Orient 
—A  Possible  Solution  of  the  Problem. 


Xlll 

PAGE 

263 

♦ 

289 


316 

339 


361 

376 

387 


Contents 


xiv 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  Spheres  of  Interest . 404 


Korea’s  Relationship  to  China-Outbreak  of  War — 
Murder  of  Korean  Queen — Russia,  France  and  Ger¬ 
many  Intervene — Spheres  of  Interest — The  American 
Attitude — The  Boxer  Rising — Peace  Negotiations — 
Adherents  of  the  Open  Door  Policy — Special  In¬ 
terests — The  Washington  Conference. 

S  XXI.  The  Era  of  Reform . 434 

The  Return  of  the  Court — Character  of  the  Reform 
— Educational  Reform — The  Old  System — The  New 
System  —  Military  Reorganization  —  Juridical  Re¬ 
form — Extraterritoriality — Revision  of  the  Criminal 
Code — New  Prisons — Law  Schools  and  Law  Courts 
— The  Attitude  of  the  Foreign  Powers — Currency 
Reform — Abolition  of  Slavery — The  Anti-Opium  Re¬ 
form — Constitutional  Reform — Death  of  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  Dowager — Degradation  of  Yuan  Shih- 
Kai — Mourning  Period. 

XXII.  Setting  up  of  the  Republic . 469 

The  National  Assembly — Railways  and  Revolution — 

The  Revolution  in  the  North — Yuan  Returns  to 
Power — Interesting  Legislation — Abdication  of  the 
Manchus — Birth  of  the  Republic — The  Provisional 
Government — The  Parliament — The  Reorganization 
Loan  —  Recognition  of  the  Republic  —  Constitution 
Making — Election  and  Inauguration. 

XXIII.  The  Struggle  for  Democracy  .  .  .  .  .  495 

The  Shantung  Question  —  China ’s  Protest  —  The 
Twenty-one  Demands — American  Interests  in  the 
Twenty-one  Demands — The  Secret  Treaties  of  1917 
and  1918 — China  in  the  War — China  at  the  Peace 
Conference — China  at  the  Washington  Conference — 

The  Special  Conference — Uniformity  of  Duties — 
Present  Conditions  in  China. 

XXIV.  Foreign  Trade . 529 

Mediaeval  Trade — Modern  Trade — Imports — Exports 
— American  Shipping — Entrance  and  Clearing  of 
Shipping — The  Tariff — Tariff  Revision — Consular 
Functions — Trade-marks,  Copyrights  and  Patents — 

The  China  Trade  Act  of  1922 — Mining  and  Manu¬ 
facturing. 

Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History  .  .  .  555 


Bibliography 


561 


Contents 


xv 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Appendix . 571 

Area,  Population — Principal  Open  Cities  and  Towns 
—  Railways  —  Steamship  Companies  —  Distances  — 
Foreign  Population  of  China — Foreign  Mission  Sta¬ 
tistics — Foreign  Banks  in  China — Chinese  Banks — 

The  Press  in  China — Exchange  Fluctuations — Cur¬ 
rency  Table — Measures  of  Capacity — Measures  of 
Length — Measures  of  Area — Holidays — Mean  Tem¬ 
perature  and  Humidity  at  Shanghai — Mean  Baro¬ 
metric  Pressure — Rainfall  (Monthly  Average) — 
Meteorology  of  Peking — Climate  of  Tientsin — Mete¬ 
orology  of  Hankow — Meteorology  of  Chungking — 
Meteorology  of  Canton — Mean  Annual  Barometric 
Pressure — Average  Rainfall — Mortality  Statistics. 

Index  .  1 . 597 

Map  op  China  and  Japan  ( see  pocket  on  back  cover ) 


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LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Duke  Yen,  Lineal  Descendant  of  Confucius  in  Seventy- 

sixth  Generation . Frontispiece 

Sunken  Road  and  Camels . 22 

Purple  Cloud  Monastery,  Western  Hills  . 22 

Returning  from  Funeral . 64 

Tablet  Tower,  Private  Cemetery . 64 

Honorary  Portal  on  Mountain  Road . 110 

Market  at  Kalgan . 110 

A  City  Well,  Peking . 150 

Bell  Tower,  Peking . 150 

Tomb  of  Confucius . 244 

Distant  View  of  Mount  Tai,  Shantung;  The  Most  Sacred 

Mountain  in  China . 244 

Approach  to  a  Prince’s  Family  Cemetery . 260 

Burial  Pit,  Temple  to  the  Earth . 260 

Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  Peking . 263 

The  Emperor  Kuanghsu,  Going  to  Worship  at  the  Temple 

of  Heaven . 276 

Tablet  Pavilion,  Imperial  Cemetery,  Mukden . 276 

Prayer  Wheel  of  Lamas . .  302 

The  Religious  Dance,  Lama  Temple,  Peking . 302 

Entrance  to  the  Ta  Kao  Tien,  Where  the  Emperor  Prayed 

for  Rain . 336 

Private  Chapel  of  Emperor . 336 

Entrance  to  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  Peking . 370 

Hall  of  Audience  at  the  Summer  Palace . 370 

Gate  of  Russian  Legation,  Peking . 410 

East  Gate  of  Legation  Quarter,  Peking . 410 

The  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung . 440 

Her  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Empress  Dowager  of  China  .  .  440 

Tsing  Hua  College,  Peking — Supported  by  the  Returned 

Boxer  Indemnity  . 448 

Barricade,  Near  American  Legation  During  Boxer  Rising  448 
Autographed  Photograph  of  Tuan-fang,  Viceroy  at  Nan¬ 
king.  Murdered  by  His  Troops,  1911 . 486 

Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  First  President  of  All  China . 486 

Fortification  at  Entrance  to  British  Legation  ....  506 
American  Minister’s  Residence . 506 

K 


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CHINA  YESTERDAY  AND  TO-DAY 


CHAPTER  I 
WHAT  IS  CHINA? 

God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed 
and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation. — St.  Paul. 

God  gave  all  men’ all  earth  to  love, 

But  since  our  hearts  are  small, 

Decreed  for  each  one  spot  should  prove 
Beloved  over  all. 

— Kipling. 

What  is  China?  The  question  was  asked  at  the  Con¬ 
ference  on  Limitation  of  Armament  recently  held  in  Wash¬ 
ington.  It  was  not  answered.  An  attempt  to  do  so  would 
probably  have  provoked  a  controversy. 

The  Nine-Power  Treaty,  signed  at  that  Conference,  in 
its  first  article  stipulates  that  the  powers  other  than  China 
shall  respect  the  sovereignty,  the  independence  and  the  ter¬ 
ritorial  and  administrative  integrity  of  China.  But  what 
does  that  mean? 

territorial  boundaries 

Does  it,  for  instance,  require  the  eight  powers  concerned 
to  respect  China’s  claim  to  sovereignty  in  Tibet?  Does  it 
mean  that  these  powers  recognize  Tibet  as  an  integral  part 
of  China?  The  question  is  important,  for,  although  Tibet 
has  belonged  to  China  for  many  centuries,  during  recent 
years  both  Russia  and  Great  Britain  have  maneuvred  for 
position  to  control  the  future  of  this  forbidding  land,  which 


\ 


What  is  China? 


9 
/*>/ 

a  British  writer  describes  as  ‘  ‘  rich  in  gold  .  .  .  enormously 
rich,  possibly  richer  than  any  other  country  in  the  world.  ’ n 

TIBET 

In  1912  the  British  Government  objected  to  the  provision 
of  the  Chinese  constitution  which  gives  Tibet  representa¬ 
tives  in  the  Parliament  at  Peking.  Objection  was  made 
also  by  the  same  Power  to  China’s  proposal  to  send  a  small 
military  force  to  Lhasa  to  protect  the  Chinese  Resident 
there.  Warning  was  given  that,  should  troops  be  sent  as 
proposed,  Great  Britain  would  withhold  from  the  new 
Republic  of  China  the  recognition  which  it  was  then 
asking. 

In  1913,  at  the  request  of  Great  Britain,  a  conference  was 
held  at  Simla  to  consider  the  relations  of  the  three  countries 
— Great  Britain,  China  and  Tibet. 

The  British  delegation  drew  up  a  treaty  which  proposed 
to  divide  Tibet  into  two  parts — Outer  Tibet,  adjoining 
India,  and  Inner  Tibet,  bordering  on  China.  The  former 
was  to  be  autonomous  under  a  shadowy  suzerainty  of 
China,  and  it  was  further  provided  that  in  case  of  difficul¬ 
ties  arising  between  autonomous  Tibet  and  China,  the  ques¬ 
tions  at  issue  should  be  referred  to  Great  Britain  for  equi¬ 
table  adjustment.  This  proposed  treaty  would  thus  have 
put  Great  Britain  in  the  position  of  protector  of  Tibet.  It 
is  interesting  to  recall  that  it  was  by  similar  arrangements 
that  the  British  Government  came  gradually  into  control 
of  Northern  India.  Sikkim,  Nepaul  and  Bhutan,  once 
tributaries  of  China,  are  now  under  British  control.  In 
1913,  however,  China  refused  to  sign  the  proposed  treaty; 
Tibet  was  willing  to  accept  it.  The  question  therefore 
remains  unsettled :  Is  China  sovereign  in  Tibet  ? 

OUTER  MONGOLIA 

In  1911  Russia  encouraged  Outer  Mongolia  to  declare 
its  independence  of  China,  although  it  had  been  a  part  of 
the  empire  since  A.D.  1691.  Under  this  encouragement  ad- 

i  Holdich,  “  Tibet  the  Mysterious,  ’ ’  p.  329. 


What  is  China? 


3 


vantage  was  taken  of  the  revolution  in  progress  in  China 
to  establish  an  independent  Mongol  government  under  the 
rulership  of  the  Hutukhtu  of  Urga,  who  was  elected  Em¬ 
peror  and  crowned  in  December,  1911. 

Subsequently  by  a  tripartite  convention  signed  in  1915, 
the  suzerainty  of  China  and  the  autonomy  of  Outer  Mon¬ 
golia  were  acknowledged,  and  Russia  was  given  a  voice  in 
the  settlement  of  questions  affecting  the  foreign  relations 
of  the  country. 

After  the  disappearance  of  the  Tsarist  regime  in  Russia, 
China  reasserted  her  authority  and  compelled  the  Hu¬ 
tukhtu,  in  1919,  to  rescind  his  declaration  of  autonomy.  He 
yielded  only  under  pressure  of  the  military  occupation  of 
his  capital.  When  Urga  was  attacked  and  captured  in 
Feb.  1921  by  a  Russian  force  commanded  by  Ungern  von 
Sternberg,  a  reactionary  leader,  the  Mongols  gave  him  sup¬ 
port.  Japan,  which  was  believed  to  be  anxious  to  see  a  con¬ 
servative  buffer  state  between  Korea  and  Siberia,  was  also 
popularly  credited  with  giving  assistance  to  Ungern,  and 
was  reported  to  have  offered  a  loan  to  the  Hutukhtu,  if  a 
non-communistic  government  should  be  maintained  by  him. 

After  a  few  weeks,  however,  Ungern  was  overthrown  by 
the  army  of  the  Far  Eastern  Republic,  and  Urga  was 
turned  over  to  the  troops  of  the  Russian  Federated  Soviet 
Republic,  which  set  up  there  the  Peoples’  Revolutionary 
Government.  This  government  still  holds  the  place. 

What  then  is  the  status  of  Outer  Mongolia?  What  is  its 
relation  to  China?  Does  the  Nine  Power  treaty  bind  the 
signatories  to  respect  China’s  sovereignty  and  administra¬ 
tive  integrity  in  Outer  Mongolia  ? 

MANCHURIA 

When  the  war  between  Russia  and  Japan  came  to  an 
end  in  1905,  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  stipulated  that  both 
powers  were  to  evacuate  Manchuria  completely  and  simul¬ 
taneously,  except  the  leased  territory  of  Liaotung.  The  two 
powers  were  also  to  restore  entirely  and  completely  to  the 
exclusive  administration  of  China  all  portions  of  Man¬ 
churia  then  in  occupation  or  control  of  Japanese  or  Rus- 


4 


What  is  China? 


sian  troops,  except  the  leased  territory  just  mentioned.2 
The  two  powers  also  engaged  to  exploit  their  respective  rail¬ 
ways  in  Manchuria  exclusively  for  commercial  and  indus¬ 
trial  purposes.3  Again  in  the  treaty  of  July  30,  1907,  these 
same  governments  recognized  the  independence  and  terri¬ 
torial  integrity  of  the  Empire  of  China  and  the  principle 
of  equal  opportunity  there  for  the  commerce  and  industry 
of  all  nations.4 

Yet  in  the  secret  treaties  of  1907,  1910  and  1912  they 
delimited  their  respective  spheres  of  special  interest  in 
Manchuria  and  Mongolia,  and  each  agreed  not  to  interfere 
in  the  consolidation  and  future  development  of  the  special 
interests  of  the  other  in  the  spheres  mentioned.5 

Furthermore  in  1915,  by  the  treaties  of  May  25,  Japan 
after  landing  troops  and  issuing  an  ultimatum,  obtained 
special  privileges  in  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner 
Mongolia. 

2  Treaty  of  Portsmouth,  Article  III. 

s  Treaty  of  Portsmouth,  Article  VII. 

4  Treaty  between  Japan  and  Russia,  July  30,  1907,  Article  II. 

s  See  Treaty  of  1910,  Article  III.  The  secret  treaty  of  1907 
defined  the  boundaries  between  Russian  and  Japanese  spheres  of 
special  interest  by  a  succession  of  straight  lines,  which  began  at  the 
Russian-Korean  frontier,  continued  via  Hunchun  northwestward  to  the 
north  end  of  Lake  Porteng  (also  written  Pilteng — Chinese  name 
Nan  Hu),  thence  northwest  by  west  to  Hsiu  Hsin  Chan  (Chinese  Hsin 
Ch’eng),  near  Petuna,  thence  down  the  Sungari  River  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Nonni,  thence  along  the  course  of  this  river  up  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Tola  River,  and  thence  up  the  Tola  to  the  crossing  of  the  122 
meridian  east  of  Greenwich.  The  treaty  of  1912  extended  the  line 
from  this  point  along  the  course  of  the  Hulunchuerh  and  the  Mushihsha 
to  the  watershed  that  divides  the  Mushihsha  from  the  Haldatai,  about 
the  point  where  the  boundary  of  the  Amur  Province  crosses  the  119 
meridian,  and  from  that  point  along  the  boundary  of  the  Amur  Prov¬ 
ince  to  the  boundary  between  Inner  and  Outer  Mongolia,  thence  south- 
westward  along  the  boundary  between  Inner  and  Outer  Mongolia  to 
its  intersection  with  the  meridian  of  Peking  (116°  27'  E.)  and  thence 
along  this  meridian  to  the  boundary  of  the  Province  of  Chihli. 

Russia  recognized  Japan’s  special  interests  in  the  territory  of  Inner 
Mongolia  east  of  this  meridian,  and  Japan  recognized  Russia’s  special 
interests,  not  only  in  Outer  Mongolia,  but  in  Inner  Mongolia  west  of 
the  meridian  of  Peking.  This  arrangement  assigned  to  Japan  for 
exploitation  all  that  region  of  Inner  Mongolia  and  Manchuria  in  which 
she  had  planned  to  build  the  Ssu-p  ’ing-k  ’ai — T’aonan  and  the 
T’aonan — Jehol  railway  lines.  The  line  from  Ssu-p ’ing-k ’ai  is  al¬ 
ready  completed  as  far  as  Chen-chia  T  ’un. 


What  is  China? 


5 


At  the  recent  Washington  Conference  Japan  withdrew 
certain  of  the  Twenty-one  Demands  of  1915  which  had  been 
reserved  for  further  consideration,  and  agreed  that  the 
option  which  had  been  obtained  on  loans  for  railway  build¬ 
ing  in  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  and  South  Manchuria,  and 
on  other  loans  secured  upon  taxes  in  the  regions  mentioned 
should  be  “  thrown  open  to  the  joint  activity  of  the  inter¬ 
national  consortium  recently  organized.”  She  also  sur¬ 
rendered  the  preference  obtained  in  the  appointment  of  ad¬ 
visers  to  the  Chinese  Government  in  South  Manchuria.  But 
Japan  refused  to  rescind  the  whole  of  the  Twenty-one  De¬ 
mands  as  requested  by  China.  Baron  Shidehara  said : 

If  it  should  once  be  recognized  that  rights  solemnly  granted 
by  treaty  may  be  revoked  at  any  time  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  conceded  against  the  spontaneous  will  of  the  grantor,  an 
exceedingly  dangerous  precedent  will  be  established,  with  far- 
reaching  consequences  upon  the  stability  of  the  existing  inter¬ 
national  relations  in  Asia,  in  Europe  and  everywhere. 

To  this  Mr.  Wang  Chung-Hui  replied  that — 

A  still  more  dangerous  precedent  will  be  established,  with  con¬ 
sequences  upon  the  stability  of  international  relations  which  can 
not  be  estimated,  if  without  rebuke  or  protest  from  the  Powers, 
one  nation  can  obtain  from  a  friendly,  but  in  a  military  sense 
weaker  neighbor,  and  under  circumstances  such  as  attended  the 
negotiations  and  signing  of  the  treaties  of  1915,  valuable  con¬ 
cessions  which  were  not  in  satisfaction  of  pending  controversies, 
and  for  which  no  quid  pro  quo  was  offered. 

It  was  through  the  Twenty-one  demands  of  1915  that 
Japan  compelled  China  against  her  will  to  cancel  her  right 
to  redeem  the  South  Manchuria  Railway  in  1939,  as  pro¬ 
vided  in  the  original  contract.  It  was  by  means  of  the 
treaties  of  May  25,  1915,  extorted  from  China  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  Twenty-one  demands,  that  Japan  was  enabled 
to  extend  her  lease  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  from  25  years 
to  99  years.  The  twenty-five-year  period  would  have  ter¬ 
minated  in  1923.  By  means  of  these  same  treaties  the 
leases  of  the  South  Manchurian  and  Mukden-Antung  Rail¬ 
ways  were  also  extended  to  99-year  periods. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts  what  is  to  be  said  of  the  status 


6 


What  is  China? 


of  Manchuria?  With  large  bodies  of  Japanese  troops 
stationed  in  various  parts  of  Manchuria,  and  with  Japanese 
police  forces  in  the  Chientao  district  and  elsewhere,  to  what 
extent  does  the  Nine-Power  Treaty  guarantee  Chinese  ad¬ 
ministrative  integrity  in  Manchuria? 

The  future  will  answer  the  questions  raised.  For  the 
present  we  can  accept  no  other  boundaries  for  China  than 
those  existing  under  the  Manchu  Government  at  the  time 
of  its  overthrow  in  1912,  and  we  must  continue  to  regard 
Tibet,  Mongolia,  and  Manchuria,  therefore,  as  wholly 
within  the  territory  of  the  Chinese  Republic. 

,  FORMER  EXTENT  OF  DOMINION 

It  will  not  be  amiss  in  passing  to  recall  the  former  extent 
of  China’s  dominion,  and  note  the  gradual  loss  of  empire 
during  the  past  four  hundred  years. 

For  a  long  time  China  was  the  dominant  power  in  Asia. 
Her  influence  extended  as  far  west  as  Aden,  whose  Sultan 
paid  tribute  to  her.  Nepaul,  Sikkim  and  Bhutan,  in  north¬ 
ern  India,  were  among  her  dependencies.  Ceylon,  Malacca, 
Burmah  and  Siam,  Cambodia,  Cochin  China  and  Tonquin, 
all  recognized  her  overlordship.  The  Sultan  of  Sulu  sent 
tribute.  The  Loochoos  and  Korea  were  dependencies.  Her 
boundaries  in  Central  Asia  touched  the  borders  of  Persia,' 
and  the  valleys  of  the  Amur  and  the  Ussuri,  on  the  north¬ 
east,  also  were  hers. 

To-day  Aden,  Ceylon,  Sikkim,  Bhutan,  Nepaul,  Malacca 
and  Burmah  all  belong  to  the  British  Empire,  which  also 
has  established  a  colony  at  Hongkong,  once  a  part  of  China. 
Siam  is  independent.  Cambodia,  Cochin  China,  Annam 
and  Tonquin  form  French  Indo  China,  and  France  also 
has  a  lease  to  Kuangchouwan  in  the  Province  of  Kuang- 
tung.  The  Sulu  Archipelago  long  ago  passed  under  the 
rule  of  Spain,  and  by  Spain  was  ceded  to  the  United  States. 
The  Loochoos  and  Korea  were  taken  by  Japan,  which  has 
also  annexed  Formosa  and  the  Pescadores  and  leased  a 
portion  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula.  Russia  has  occupied  a 
great  part  of  Central  Asia  that  once  bowed  to  the  sway  of 


What  is  China? 


7 


Peking,  and  has  also  extended  her  boundaries  to  the  banks 
of  the  Amur  and  annexed  the  Siberian  Maritime  Province 
east  of  the  Ussuri  and  reaching  to  the  borders  of  Korea. 

Thus  the  great  empire  of  China  has  been  gradually  eaten 
away  at  the  fringes. 

PRESENT  DAY  CHINA 

But  what  remains  to  China  still  leaves  her  in  extent  of 
territory  one  of  the  greatest  countries  of  the  world,  in  lati¬ 
tude  reaching  from  19°  north,  in  the  island  of  Hainan,  to 
53°  north  in  Manchuria,  and  in  longitude  extending  from 
72°  east,  in  Turkestan,  to  134°  east  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ussuri  River.  It  covers  an  area  of  more  than  four  million 
square  miles,  and  contains  a  population  of  some  four  hun¬ 
dred  millions  of  people. 

It  is  not  an  empire  made  up  of  scattered  islands  or  colo¬ 
nies,  far  distant  one  from  another,  but  a  compact  conti¬ 
nental  area  covering  nearly  all  of  south-eastern  Asia,  cut 
off  by  the  vast  mountain  masses  of  Tibet  and  the  deserts 
of  Turkestan  and  Mongolia  from  the  rest  of  the  continent, 
and  protected  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  waters  of  the 
sea. 

It  was  practically  within  these  boundaries,  through  many 
centuries,  that  China  developed  her  independent  civiliza¬ 
tion,  isolated  from  all  but  the  most  casual  contact  with  the 
West.  That  remarkable  civilization  she  imposed  upon  the 
lesser  states  with  whom  intercourse  was  possible.  Siam, 
Annam,  Japan  and  Korea  all  derived  their  arts  and  institu¬ 
tions  from  her,  and  the  less  civilized  Manchus,  Mongols, 
Turkis  and  Tibetans  also  were  her  pupils.  Holding  “do¬ 
minion  over  palm  and  pine,  ’  ’  with  every  variety  of  soil  and 
climate,  her  agricultural  products  were  more  varied  than 
those  of  any  other  land,  and,  equally  rich  in  animal  and 
mineral  resources,  she  had  raw  materials  for  every  kind  of 
manufacture  and  has  given  the  world  some  of  its  most  im¬ 
portant  industries. 

It  was  customary  under  the  Manchu  regime  to  speak  of 
China  as  including  the  “Eighteen  Provinces”  and  the  de- 


8 


What  is  China? 


pendencies.  The  provinces  had  organized,  county,  pre- 
fectual  and  provincial  governments ;  the  dependencies  were 
ruled  through  native  princes  under  the  control  of  the  Min¬ 
istry  of  Dependencies  at  Peking  and  its  representatives, 
the  Military  Governors,  in  various  districts,  and  the  Resi¬ 
dents  in  Tibet  and  Outer  Mongolia.  But  in  1878  Turkestan 
was  converted  into  a  nineteenth  province  called  Hsin- 
kiang,  or  “the  New  Dominion,”  and  in  1907  Manchuria 
was  organized  into  three  more  provinces,  making  twenty- 
two  in  all.  To-day,  then,  China  consists  of  twenty-two 
organized  provinces  and  the  dependencies;  Tibet,  Ch’ing- 
hai  (Kokonor),  Inner  Mongolia  and  Outer  Mongolia. 

In  the  old  Eighteen  Provinces  the  population  is  almost 
wholly  Chinese,  but  there  are  several  tribes  of  aborigines 
in  the  southern  and  south-western  provinces.  In  Turkestan 
and  all  the  dependencies  the  Chinese  are  in  the  minority. 
In  the  three  provinces  of  Manchuria  there  is  a  mixture  of 
races,  but  the  Chinese  out -number  all  the  others  added  to¬ 
gether. 

Of  the  dependencies,  Tibet,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
valleys,  is  cold,  sterile  and  inhospitable.  It  is  sparsely 
populated.  The  people  are  ignorant,  superstitious  and 
poor.  Although  a  Chinese  Resident  at  Lhasa  represents 
the  Peking  Government,  the  country  is  ruled  in  fact  by  a 
theocratic  government  with  a  dual  head.  The  Dalai  Lama 
wields  the  political  power  and  the  Tashihlumpo  Lama  the 
ecclesiastical.  The  present  constitution  of  China  provides 
for  a  representation  of  Tibet  in  Parliament  by  ten  senators 
and  ten  representatives. 

Ch’inghai,  or  Kokonor,  once  a  part  of  Tibet,  is  in¬ 
habited  by  twenty-nine  tribes  of  nomads,  whose  chief  indus¬ 
try  is  grazing.  They  are  ruled  by  native  princes  under 
the  supervision  of  a  Chinese  Governor  at  Sining  in  Kansu, 
Kokonor  is  represented  in  Parliament  by  three  senators 
and  three  representatives. 

Inner  and  Outer  Mongolia  are  also  inhabited  by  nomads, 
descendants  of  those  hordes  which,  under  Jinghiz  Khan  and 
his  successors  over-ran  all  Asia  and  south-eastern  Europe. 
Inner  Mongolia  has  much  fertile  land  which  is  being  colo- 


What  is  China? 


9 


nized  by  the  Chinese.  Outer  Mongolia  also,  on  the  border 
of  Siberia,  has  fertile  valleys. 

Inner  Mongolia  extends  northward  to  the  great  desert 
plateau  which  forms  the  greater  part  of  Outer  Mongolia, 
and  which  lies  at  an  elevation  of  over  4000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  The  climate  is  bitterly  cold  in  winter, 
but  on  summer  days  the  heat  is  intense.  The  proximity  of 
this  Gobi  desert,  and  that  of  Taklamakan  in  Turkestan,  to 
the  northern  tier  of  provinces  in  China  is  probably  re¬ 
sponsible  for  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  climate  there, 
particularly  for  the  periodical  recurrence  of  drought 
and  famine.  One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  cli¬ 
mate  is  the  occurrence  of  dust  storms  which,  especially  in 
March  and  April,  sweep  down  from  the  desert  and  cover 
all  north  China  with  a  deposit  of  loess,  stifling  man  and 
beast  and  making  travel  all  but  impossible.  Taken  alto¬ 
gether  Inner  and  Outer  Mongolia  cover  an  area  of  1,272,000 
square  miles,  and  have  a  population  of  about  two  millions. 

The  Mongol  tribes  are  engaged  in  raising  cattle,  horses, 
camels,  sheep  and  goats.  Camel’s  hair,  goat’s  hair,  sheep’s 
wool,  with  hides  and  skins  are  the  principal  articles  of 
export.  There  are  valuable  mines  in  Mongolia,  but  they 
have  not  been  developed  to  any  great  extent. 

At  present  (1923)  the  capital  of  Outer  Mongolia  is,  as 
already  stated,  in  the  possession  of  a  so-called  “ Peoples’ 
Revolutionary  Government”  set  up  by  the  Russian  Fed¬ 
erated  Soviet  Republic  and  supported  by  Bolshevist  troops. 
But  normally  the  people,  whether  in  Inner  or  Outer  Mon¬ 
golia,  are  subject  to  the  orders  of  their  chieftains  or  princes, 
and  these  in  turn,  with  all  their  subjects,  look  up  with 
reverence  to  the  Hutukhtu  at  Urga,  the  chief  ecclesiastic 
of  the  country  and  the  third  in  rank  in  the  Lama  Church. 
Chinese  sovereignty  is  represented  by  the  military  gov¬ 
ernors  stationed  at  various  points,  and  more  especially  by 
the  Resident  at  Urga.  Under  the  constitution  of  the  Re¬ 
public  all  Mongolia,  Inner  and  Outer,  is  entitled  to  27 
senators  and  27  representatives  in  Parliament,  chosen  by 
an  electoral  college  representing  all  the  tribes  and  leagues. 


10 


What  is  China? 


TURKESTAN 

Chinese  Turkestan,  or  the  “New  Dominion/ ’  as  it  is  now 
called,  lies  on  the  north-western  frontier  of  China,  and 
covers  an  area  of  550,000  square  miles,  mostly  desert.  It 
has  a  population  of  more  than  two  millions,  partly  Chinese 
and  partly  Turki,  with  a  number  of  Sarts  and  Hindus  also. 

These  are  found  chiefly  in  the  oases  of  the  Tarim  Valley. 
The  Tarim  River,  1250  miles  long,  is  fed  by  the  snows  of 
the  Hindu  Kush,  and  supplies  the  water  needed  for  the 
irrigation  of  the  fields  around  Kashgar,  Yarkand,  Khotan 
and  other  towns.  It  flows  eastward,  decreasing  in  volume 
as  it  goes,  and  finally  loses  itself  in  the  marshes  of  Lob 
Nor.  The  Pamirs  and  the  Karakorum  Mountains  form  a 
barrier  on  the  west.  The  Tienshan  range,  extending  al¬ 
most  in  a  direct  line  east  and  west,  divides  the  region  into 
two  sections.  North  of  the  range  is  the  valley  of  the 
Ili  River,  flowing  westward  into  Lake  Balkash  in  Russian 
Central  Asia.  Kuldja,  once  occupied  by  Russia  during  the 
revolt  of  Yakub  Beg  (1866-77),  and  returned  to  China 
in  1881,  lies  near  the  Russian  border.  Ili  is  celebrated  for 
its  ponies. 

Other  cities  of  Turkestan  are  Kuchen  and  Hami.  The 
ancient  route  of  overland  travel  between  the  East  and 
West  passes  through  the  province  by  the  valley  of  the 
Tarim,  and  crosses  the  Pamirs  over  a  pass  which  is  at  an 
elevation  of  more  than  14,000  feet. 

Wherever  cultivation  is  possible  the  province  produces 
abundant  crops  of  grain,  cotton  and  fruits.  All  the  do¬ 
mestic  animals  are  reared  in  considerable  numbers.  Fields 
of  lucerne  furnish  rich  pasture.  The  region  is  noted,  too, 
for  its  minerals,  particularly  the  white  or  “  mutton-fat  ’  ’ 
jade,  so  highly  prized  by  the  Chinese.  Silk  culture  and 
rug-making  are  important  industries  of  the  province. 

From  ancient  times  the  inhabitants  have  been  a  source 
of  trouble  to  the  Chinese,  for  this  was  the  home  of  the 
Hsiung  Nu  who  often  invaded  China  or  pillaged  the  cara¬ 
vans  trading  with  the  West.  They  are  identified  by  some 
with  the  Huns  of  similar  characteristics  who  carried  terror 


What  is  China? 


11 


to  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  also  with  the  barbarous 
Scythians  of  whom  Herodotus  wrote.  To-day  they  are 
Mohammedans  in  religion,  and  being  of  a  different  race 
from  the  Chinese,  toward  whom  they  have  an  inherited 
antipathy,  they  are  sometimes  guilty  of  plotting  against 
the  government.  During  the  late  war  they  were  stirred 
to  unrest  by  German  and  Turkish  propaganda,  but  were 
not  induced  to  rise.  The  principal  cities  of  Turkestan  are 
open  to  foreign  residence  and  trade. 

MANCHURIA 

The  ‘  1  Three  Eastern  Province^,  ’  ’  as  Manchuria  is  known 
to  the  Chinese,  now  include  a  portion  of  Inner  Mongolia, 
lying  east  of  the  Hsingan  Mountains,  which  has  been  added 
to  the  province  of  Shengking.  Thus  enlarged  Manchuria 
has  an  area  of  some  460,000  square  miles,  and  a  population 
of  about  19,000,000,  found  chiefly  in  the  southernmost 
province,  Shengking.  The  whole  region  was  once  an  inde¬ 
pendent  kingdom,  the  home  of  the  Manchus  who  conquered 
China  in  A.D.  1644.  It  has  as  its  natural  boundaries  the 
Hsingan  Mountains  on  the  west,  the  Amur  River  on  the 
north,  the  Long  White  Mountain  and  the  Yalu  River  on 
the  east,  and  the  sea  on  the  south.  Six  great  rivers  furnish 
channels  of  communication  along  its  frontiers  or  give  ac¬ 
cess  to  the  interior:  the  Amur,  the  Ussuri,  the  Sungari 
and  its  tributary  the  Nonni,  the  Yalu  and  the  Liao. 

For  two  hundred  years  after  the  conquest  of  China  the 
Manchus  discouraged  immigration  into  northern  and  cen¬ 
tral  Manchuria,  and  held  the  vast  forests  there  as  hunting 
grounds  for  the  Court.  The  two  northern  provinces, 
therefore,  are  but  sparsely  settled,  although  the  region  is 
one  of  rich  soil  and  bracing  climate.  The  mineral  re¬ 
sources  of  these  provinces  are  also  considerable  and  are 
but  slightly  developed.  Gold  is  found  in  the  north  and 
coal  and  iron  in  the  southern  part.  Wheat,  the  soja  bean, 
tobacco  and  millet  are  among  the  best  crops,  and  beans, 
pongee,  skins  and  furs  among  the  chief  exports. 

This  rich,  undeveloped  region  has  for  years  past  been 


12 


What  is  China? 

coveted  by  Russia  and  Japan.  There  are  about  100,000 
Japanese  resident  there,  and  perhaps  twice  as  many 
Koreans.  The  railways  in  the  south  are  leased  to  Japan 
and  operated  by  Japanese.  Those  in  the  north  were  under 
Russian  control  until  the  great  war  threw  Russia  into  dis¬ 
order.  They  may  still  be  regarded  as  Russian  property, 
and  until  recently  were  under  the  protection  and  manage¬ 
ment  of  an  international  commission. 

CHINA  PROPER 

The  Eighteen  Provinces  which  are  the  real  home  of  the 
Chinese  people  have  an  area  of  more  than  a  million  and  a 
half  square  miles  and  a  population  of  about  370,000,000. 

Three  great  rivers  divide  the  country  naturally  into  three 
sections;  the  Yellow,  the  Yangtze  and  the  West  Rivers. 

NORTHERN  PROVINCES 

The  Huang  Ho  or  Yellow  River  touches  six  provinces  in 
its  course.  Its  turbid  waters  carry  enormous  quantities 
of  silt,  which  is  deposited  in  the  lower  channel  where  the 
current  grows  sluggish.  Thus  the  bed  of  the  river  is  con¬ 
stantly  rising  and  in  places  is  above  the  level  of  the  fields, 
which  are  protected  by  dykes.  These  are  frequently  broken 
in  times  of  flood,  and  thus  the  river  has  come  to  be  known 
as  “China’s  Sorrow.”  Except  in  its  northern  bend  and 
for  some  miles  above  its  mouth  the  stream  is  not  fit  for 
navigation.  The  whole  valley  is  one  that  from  ancient 
times  has  been  afflicted  alternately  by  flood  and  drought. 
History  records  many  floods  since  the  days  of  Yu  the  Great, 
who  reclaimed  the  fields  from  the  overflowing  waters  in 
2205  B.C.  and  many  droughts  have  brought  famine  to  the 
people  since  T’ang  the  Completer  in  1761  B.C.,  after  seven 
years  of  crop  failure,  proposed  to  offer  himself  as  a  victim 
to  appease  the  wrath  of  God,  and  so,  as  it  is  believed, 
brought  the  long-desired  rains.  The  latest  famine,  that  of 
1920-21,  is  said  to  have  destroyed  ten  million  lives. 

The  Yellow  River  rises  in  the  mountains  of  Tibet  at  an 


What  is  China? 


13 


elevation  of  more  than  13,000  feet,  within  but  a  few  miles 
of  the  source  of  the  Yangtze.  Its  upper  course  is  a  crooked 
one.  It  crosses  Kansu  Province  in  a  channel  obstructed  by 
huge  rocks  and  descends  rapidly  in  a  series  of  cascades, 
leaving  the  province  at  an  elevation  of  but  3000  feet  above 
sea  level,  when  it  enters  the  Ordos  country.  Thus  far  its 
course  has  been  through  a  wild  region,  sparsely  inhabited, 
mountainous,  and  covered  with  forests,  a  retreat  still  for 
such  wild  animals  as  tigers,  leopards,  bears,  wild  boars, 
wolves  and  foxes.  The  vegetation  is  rich  and  interesting. 
Pine,  beech,  birch  and  rhododendron  are  among  the  trees 
of  the  forest.  The  region  abounds  in  minerals :  gold,  silver, 
iron  and  petroleum,  but  a  careful  survey  is  needed  to  de¬ 
termine  the  value  of  these  deposits. 

The  province  of  Shansi,  however,  which  lies  farther  east, 
contains  some  of  the  largest  deposits  of  coal  and  iron  in 
the  world. 

Shantung,  where  the  river  finds  its  mouth,  is  the  Holy 
Land  of  China,  the  birth-place  and  burial  place  of  two  of 
its  greatest  teachers,  Confucius  and  Mencius,  and  the  prov¬ 
ince  which  holds  the  sacred  Mount  T’ai. 

This  is  the  province  on  whose  coast  Kiaochow  Bay  is 
located,  once  leased  to  Germany,  captured  during  the  war 
by  the  Japanese,  and  returned  to  China  by  the  treaty 
signed  at  Washington  in  February,  1922.  On  the  northern 
shore  of  the  Shantung  Peninsula  is  the  harbor  of  Weihai- 
wei,  leased  to  Great  Britain  in  1898  for  as  long  a  period 
as  Russia  should  hold  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny.  At  the 
Washington  Conference,  1921-22,  Great  Britain  agreed  to 
return  the  territory  to  China. 

This  province,  too,  has  valuable  mineral  deposits;  coal, 
iron  and  gold.  Chihli,  its  neighbor  on  the  north,  is  rich 
in  coal,  and  holds  within  its  borders  the  capital,  Peking, 
and  the  principal  port  of  north  China,  Tientsin.  The 
capital  of  China  during  the  greater  part  of  its  history 
has  been  located  in  the  Yellow  River  Valley,  sometimes  at 
Hsianfu  in  Shensi,  at  other  times  at  Loyang  or  at  K’ai- 
fengfu  in  Honan,  and  several  times  at  Peking  as  at  present. 

Along  the  northern  frontier  of  China  Proper  the  Great 


\ 


14 


What  is  China? 


Wall  extends  from  Shanhaikuan  on  the  sea  coast  to 
Chiayiikuan  on  the  border  of  Turkestan,  some  1300  miles 
to  the  west. 

The  agricultural  products  of  this  part  of  China  are  those 
that  are  common  in  the  North  Temperate  Zone:  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  millet  and  maize,  beans  in  great  variety,  hemp 
and  jute,  apricots,  apples,  cherries,  grapes,  peaches,  pears 
and  persimmons.  Cotton  and  silk  are  also  produced.  The 
pongees  of  Shantung  are  well  known.  Railways  connect 
Peking  with  Hankow  and  Nanking  in  central  China  and 
with  Mukden  in  Manchuria.  Tsinanfu  on  the  line  between 
Peking  and  Nanking  is  the  capital  of  Shantung  and  is  con¬ 
nected  by  rail  with  Tsingtao,  the  port  formerly  leased  to 
Germany. 

THE  YANGTZE  VALLEY 

The  valley  of  the  Yangtze  Kiang  is  the  real  heart  of 
China.  This  river,  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  world,  rises 
at  an  elevation  of  some  16,000  feet  above  sea  level,  and  in 
the  first  900  miles  of  its  course  falls  nearly  14,000  feet. 
It  is  3200  miles  long  and  drains  an  area  of  not  less  than 
700,000  square  miles.  This  area  is  divided  among  seven 
provinces.  The  river  has  many  large  tributaries  and  the 
whole  valley  is  rich  in  soil,  salubrious  in  climate,  and  con¬ 
tains  a  population  of  some  two  hundred  millions,  that  is  to 
say,  one-half  of  the  population  of  the  entire  country.  The 
valley  is  the  most  important  part  of  the  Republic,  both 
agriculturally  and  commercially.  Its  mineral  resources  are 
very  important.  Iron,  coal  and  antimony  are  those  most 
developed. 

It  has  between  25  and  30  cities  each  of  which  has  a  popu¬ 
lation  of  over  a  hundred  thousand,  and  numerous  other  cit¬ 
ies  and  towns  that  approach  that  limit.  Its  industries  are 
varied  and  interesting,  and  its  trade  attracts  the  merchant 
fleets  of  the  seven  seas. 

Its  principal  crops  are  rice  and  cotton,  but  wheat  and 
maize  also  are  planted.  The  mulberry  supplies  food  for  the 
silk-worm.  Ginger  and  indigo  are  produced  in  large  quan¬ 
tities,  and  several  varieties  of  citrus  fruits  are  added  to 


What  is  China ? 


15 


those  which  its  orchards  have  in  common  with  the  northern 
region. 

Shanghai  is  the  greatest  port,  having  a  population  of  over 
a  million  inhabitants.  Other  cities  open  to  foreign  residence 
are  Ningpo,  Hangchow  and  Soochow,  Nanking,  several 
times  the  capital  of  China,  Hankow,  the  center  of  the  tea 
trade,  Hanyang,  the  site  of  iron  furnaces  and  rolling  mills, 
and  Chungking,  the  chief  port  of  Szechuen  Province.  The 
gorges  of  the  Yangtze  below  Chungking  afford  some  of  the 
most  awe-inspiring  scenery  in  the  world. 

There  are  225,000  miles  of  canals  in  China,  of  which 
most  are  found  in  the  Yangtze  Valley.  The  Grand  Canal, 
whose  beginnings  were  undertaken  in  the  Sixth  Century 
B.C.  but  whose  completion  dates  from  the  close  of  the 
Thirteenth  Century  A.D.  connects  Hangchow  with  Tien¬ 
tsin. 

Railways  now  give  communication  between  Shanghai  and 
Nanking,  Nanking  and  Peking,  Kiukiang  and  Nanchang, 
and  between  Hankow  and  Peking.  Other  are  planned  and 
in  part  under  construction. 

THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES 

The  West  River  does  not  compare  in  length  with  the 
Yellow  River  nor  in  volume  and  navigability  with  the 
Yangtze,  nevertheless  its  waters,  taken  with  those  of  its 
tributaries,  may  be  said  to  concern  all  the  remaining  prov¬ 
inces  of  China  Proper  except  Fukien,  which  cut  off  by  a 
mountain  barrier  from  the  Yangtze  region  and  having  only 
coast  communication  with  the  south,  may  be  said  to  be 
isolated.  Its  affiliations,  however,  are  with  the  south  rather 
than  with  central  China,  and  it  is  best  considered  therefore 
in  the  group  of  Southern  Provinces. 

The  West  River  rises  in  the  province  of  Yunnan  and 
flows  across  Kuangsi  into  Kuangtung,  where  it  is  joined  by 
the  North  and  East  Rivers  to  form  the  estuary  of  Canton, 
or  the  Bocca  Tigris.  Canton  is  the  oldest  and  best  known 
sea-port  of  China,  and  has  been  engaged  in  foreign  trade 
since  the  Third  Century  A.D.  It  is  still  the  entrepot  for 


16 


What  is  China? 


all  commerce  with  the  south,  and  the  waters  of  the  rivers 
named  give  access,  not  only  to  the  two  Kuang  Provinces 
but  to  Yunnan  and  Kueichow  as  well.  A  canal  connects 
one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  West  River  with  the  head 
waters  of  the  Siang,  in  Hunan  Province,  and  thus  affords 
communication  with  the  Yangtze. 

These  five  southern  provinces  constitute  a  well-defined 
region  distinct  from  the  rest  of  China.  They  are  all  moun¬ 
tainous  and  rich  in  mineral  deposits.  They  have  a  sub¬ 
tropical  climate  and  corresponding  flora  and  fauna.  The 
inhabitants  in  large  part  are  non-Chinese  aborigines,  and 
the  Chinese  speak  a  variety  of  dialects  and  for  the  most 
part  do  not  understand  the  mandarin,  which  is  the  official 
language.  The  agricultural  products  of  the  region  are 
abundant  and  varied.  All  the  grains  are  grown  but  rice 
is  perhaps  the  most  common.  Beans,  hemp,  cotton,  tobacco, 
indigo,  sugar  cane  and  tea,  ginger,  cassia  and  peanuts  are 
all  produced.  Silk  is  common.  Wild  silk  is  produced  in 
Kueichou.  The  caribou,  sheep  and  goats  are  among  the 
domestic  animals.  Poultry  and  fish  are  raised  in  great 
numbers. 

FUKIEN 

Fukien,  as  already  stated,  is  cut  off  from  easy  communi¬ 
cation  with  the  rest  of  China,  and  its  people  have  therefore 
developed  in  seclusion,  having  many  customs  peculiar  to 
themselves.  The  population  is  dense  and  the  prevailing 
poverty  has  forced  many  to  emigrate.  Most  of  the  Chinese 
in  the  Philippines  are  from  this  province.  Foochow,  its 
capital,  was  formerly  one  of  the  principal  tea  ports  of 
China,  but  has  lost  much  of  its  trade. 

KUANGTUNG 

Kuangtung  Province,  whose  name  has  been  given  by 
Europeans  in  the  form  of  “ Canton’ ’  to  its  chief  city,  was 
the  first  province  visited  by  European  vessels;  and  for  a 
long  period  of  years  the  port,  Kuangchoufu,  which  we 
call  “ Canton,”  was  the  only  city  open  to  foreign  trade. 
The  Canton  delta  is  a  broad,  fertile  plain,  crossed  in  many 


What  is  China? 


17 


directions  by  a  net-work  of  water-ways.  It  is  densely 
populated  and  contains  a  number  of  large  cities:  Canton 
with  over  a  million,  Fatshan  with  five  hundred  thousand, 
Shiklung  with  a  hundred  thousand,  Huichou,  Chaoching, 
Samshui,  Kongmoon,  Kowloon  and  others  of  lesser  im¬ 
portance. 

Canton  is  connected  by  rail  with  Fatshan  and  Samshui 
and  by  another  line  with  the  British  port,  Kowloon,  which 
is  opposite  the  island  of  Honkong  and  belongs  to  that 
colony.  A  trunk  line  is  being  built  northwards  from  Canton 
which  will  eventually  connect  with  the  railway  under  con¬ 
struction  from  Hankow  southward.  When  completed  this 
will  afford  rail  communication  with  Peking. 

The  Cantonese  are  an  energetic  and  progressive  people, 
and  in  temperament,  speech  and  customs  differ  widely 
from  the  people  of  the  north.  This  probably  has  much  to 
do  with  the  present  political  strife  between  Canton  and 
Peking. 

On  the  right  of  the  mouth  of  the  Canton  Estuary,  just 
opposite  Hongkong,  is  the  peninsula  of  Macao,  now  a  Portu¬ 
guese  colony.  It  was  occupied  by  them,  with  China’s  con¬ 
sent,  in  1557,  and  rent  was  paid  to  China  for  its  use  until 
1849,  when  Portugal  attempted  to  assert  her  sovereignty 
there.  China  did  not  acknowledge  Portuguese  ownership, 
however,  until  1887. 

Since  1898  the  French  have  held  a  lease  upon  Kuang- 
chouwan,  in  the  province  of  Kuangtung,  but  nothing  of 
consequence  has  been  done  by  them  to  develop  the  region. 
At  the  Conference  in  Washington  during  the  winter  of 
1921-22  the  question  of  the  return  of  this  leased  territory 
to  China  was  raised,  and  it  was  intimated  that  France 
would  give  favorable  consideration  to  the  proposal. 

Off  the  coast  of  Kuangtung  lies  the  interesting  island, 
Hainan.  Two  tribes  of  aborigines  occupy  the  central  por¬ 
tion  of  the  island.  The  Chinese  live  chiefly  along  the  coast. 
The  fauna  and  flora  are  tropical. 

There  are  many  aborigines  also  on  the  mainland  in 
Kuangtung,  but  more  in  the  adjoining  province  of  Kuangsi, 
where  two-thirds  of  the  population  are  non-Chinese. 


18 


What  is  China? 


THE  THREE  SOUTH-WESTERN  PROVINCES 

Kuangsi,  Kueichou  and  Yunnan  are  all  very  mountain¬ 
ous,  sparsely  settled,  and  rich  in  minerals,  but  very  back¬ 
ward  in  social  conditions.  The  mineral  resources  are 
largely  undeveloped.  Gold,  silver  and  antimony  are  found 
in  Kuangsi;  iron,  coal,  quicksilver,  copper  and  zinc  in 
Kueichou;  tin  and  lead,  zinc,  copper  and  coal  in  Yunnan. 
The  tin  and  copper  mines  of  Yunnan  have  been  worked  to 
a  considerable  extent  by  native  methods.  In  Kueichou  and 
Yunnan  development  has  been  hindered  by  lack  of  com¬ 
munications.  Transportation  has  been  very  difficult  in  the 
past.  Yunnan  now  has  a  railway  connecting  its  capital 
with  Hanoi  in  Indo  China. 

All  three  south-western  provinces  have  suffered  much 
from  rebellion,  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  so  large  a  part 
of  the  population  is  non-Chinese.  In  Kueichou  three- 
fourths  belong  to  the  Miao  tribes.  Yunnan  has  a  large 
element  of  Mohammedans.  They  rose  in  rebellion  in  1856, 
and  kept  up  the  struggle  against  the  Chinese  until  1872. 
Ten  millions  of  people  were  said  to  have  perished  during 
the  war. 

Eternal  snows  cover  the  mountains  in  the  western  part 
of  Yunnan.  The  province  is  watered  by  several  large 
rivers.  The  branches  of  the  Irawaddy  cross  the  western 
border.  The  Salween  flows  across  the  province  in  deep 
gorges.  The  Mekong  for  500  miles  has  cut  its  way 
through  a  canyon  that  is  from  2000  to  3000  feet  deep.  Its 
banks  are  covered  in  many  places  with  dense  forests.  The 
Yangtze  forms  a  part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
province.  The  West  River  rises  in  the  eastern  part,  and 
the  Red  River  flows  across  the  southern  border  into  Indo 
China. 

MOUNTAIN  SYSTEMS 

The  mountain  ranges  of  China,  which  have  so  much  to 
do  with  determining  its  physical  characteristics  and  its 
climatic  conditions,  stretch  out  over  eastern  Asia  like  the 
fingers  of  a  mighty  hand.  That  hand,  weighing  heavily 


What  is  China? 


19 


upon  the  center  of  the  continent,  is  the  huge  mass  of  lofty 
table-lands  and  towering  peaks  which  we  know  as  Tibet. 
It  is  the  largest  and  highest  group  of  mountains  in  the 
world.6  The  plateau  of  Tibet  varies  in  elevation  from 
13,000  to  over  16,000  feet  above  sea  level,  but  the  summits 
of  the  Kunlun  Range  on  the  northern  border  rise  to  over 
20,000  feet,  and  the  Karakoram  Mountains  on  the  north¬ 
west  to  more  than  28,000,  while  Mount  Everest  in  the 
Himalaya  on  the  southern  frontier  reaches  to  29,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  northwestern  part  of  the  plateau  has 
no  drainage  channel  to  lower  levels.  The  rivers  that  flow 
into  it  from  surrounding  mountains  deposit  their  waters  in 
numerous  lakes  that  have  been  formed  there.  But  in  the 
east  and  south  are  deep  and  fertile  valleys  drained  by  the 
head  waters  of  the  greatest  rivers  of  Asia.  These  valleys 
fall  to  an  elevation  of  11,000  feet.  In  them  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Tibet  find  their  homes. 

The  Altai  System. — A  single  range  of  mountains  in  China 
is  often  called  by  different  names  in  different  localities. 
Thus  the  western  end  of  the  Kunlun  Range  where  it  bends 
to  the  northwest  is  called  the  Karakoram  Mountains. 
Further  to  the  north  it  becomes  the  Pamirs,  and  the  Pamirs 
pass  into  the  Tienshan. 

These  three — the  Karakoram,  the  Pamirs  and  the  Tien¬ 
shan,  form  the  western  boundary  of  Chinese  Turkestan. 
Over  the  Karakoram  range  there  is  a  pass  at  an  elevation 
of  18,500  feet,  by  which  communication  is  maintained  be¬ 
tween  Yarkand  in  Chinese  Turkestan  and  Ladak  in  Kash¬ 
mir.  The  highest  peaks  of  the  Pamirs  attain  an  elevation 
of  26,000  feet.  There  is  a  pass  over  the  mountains  14,200 
feet  above  sea  level  at  Shishiklik.  From  the  northern  ex¬ 
tremity  of  the  Pamirs  the  Tienshan  extends  north-east¬ 
wards  and  divides  into  two  main  branches.  The  northern 
branch,  or  Tienshan  Pei  Lu,  has  a  northeast-southwest 
direction.  Its  highest  peak,  Tengri  Khan,  has  an  elevation 
of  over  23,000  feet.  This  range  connects  with  the  Tannuola 
Mountains  and  the  Altai  Range,  which  constitute  the 
northwestern  border  of  Mongolia.  The  Altai  Mountains  do 

0  Richard ’s  Comprehensive  Geography  of  China,  p.  539. 


20 


What  is  China? 


not  rise  above  11,000  feet.  They  stretch  across  Siberia  to 
the  northeast  in  the  Yablonoi  Mountains,  which  form  the 
northern  water-shed  of  the  Amur  Valley. 

The  Tienshan  Nan  Lu. — This  southern  branch  of  the 
Tienshan  Range  has  an  east  and  west  direction.  It  divides 
Chinese  Turkestan  into  two  great  basins.  The  highest  peaks 
reach  an  altitude  of  25,000  feet  and  are  covered  with 
glaciers.  Eastwards  the  range  declines  gradually  and  con¬ 
nects  with  the  great  central  plateau  of  Mongolia,  which 
has  an  elevation  of  about  5000  feet. 

The  Altyn  Tagh. — The  Kunlun  Range,  as  it  stretches 
eastward,  splits  into  several  chains.  The  northernmost  is 
known  as  the  Altyn  Tagh.  It  maintains  an  altitude  of  about 
14,000  feet.  Where  it  approaches  the  pan-handle  of  Kansu 
Province  it  is  called  the  Nanshan,  or  “Southern  Moun¬ 
tains,  ’  ’  and  to  Europeans  is  known  as  the  Humboldt  Moun¬ 
tains.  There  it  holds  in  the  embrace  of  two  parallel  ridges 
the  great  lake  called  Koko  Nor,  or  Ch’ing  Hai,  which  has 
an  elevation  of  10,000  feet.  Bending  southeastwards  in 
parallel  chains,  one  of  which  is  called  the  Richtofen  Moun¬ 
tains  by  Europeans,  it  expands  in  a  tangled  mass  of  moun¬ 
tains  over  Kansu  and  Shensi.  The  principal  range  strikes 
northeastwards  along  the  course  of  the  Yellow  River  to  the 
Ordos  Plateau,  where  it  unites  with  the  Alashan  Range, 
10,000  feet  in  elevation.  These  mountains  deflect  the  Yellow 
River  to  the  east,  and  after  a  short  distance  the  channel 
is  bent  towards  the  south  by  the  expansion  of  the  mountains 
in  the  Shansi  Plateau,  which  varies  in  height  from  6500 
to  11,000  feet.  From  Shansi  eastward  the  range  is  known 
as  the  Inshan.  The  Alashan  and  the  Inshan  form  the 
southern  boundary  of  Mongolia.  Eastwards  the  Inshan 
continues  into  the  Great  Hsingan  Mountains,  which,  bend¬ 
ing  to  the  northeast,  form  the  boundary  between  Mongolia 
and  Manchuria  and  reach  an  elevation  of  about  7000  feet. 
A  spur  of  this  range  known  as  the  Little  Hsingan  separates 
the  valley  of  the  Amur  from  that  of  the  Nonni.  Further 
to  the  east  a  long  range  parallel  with  the  Great  Hsingan 
is  called  the  Ever  White  Mountains.  It  extends  from  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula,  through  the 


What  is  China? 


21 


eastern  part  of  Manchuria  to  the  junction  of  the  Ussuri 
with  the  Amur.  Its  highest  peak  is  about  8500  feet  above 
sea  level. 

The  Ch’inUng. — Where  the  Altyn  Tagh  leaves  the  east¬ 
ern  Kunlun,  another  range  breaks  off  towards  the  southeast 
in  several  parallel  chains,  known  by  various  names  in  dif¬ 
ferent  places.  By  Europeans  it  is  called  the  Marco  Polo 
Mountains.  To  the  Chinese  it  is  known  as  the  Ch’inling 
and  the  Hsich’ing  Mountains.  The  elevation  falls  as  the 
mountains  stretch  eastwards.  The  highest  peaks  reach  to 
13,000  feet,  but  the  range  averages  about  6500.  It  forms 
the  natural  boundary  between  Tibet  and  the  Province  of 
Kokonor,  or  Ch’inghai,  and  it  forms  the  water-shed  be¬ 
tween  the  sources  of  the  Yellow  River  and  the  Yangtze. 
Bending  to  the  east  as  it  approaches  the  southeast  corner 
of  Tibet,  it  divides  into  two  principal  chains.  The  northern 
chain,  or  Pei  Ling,  separates  the  Wei  River  valley  from 
that  of  the  Han,  and  where  the  Wei  empties  into  the  Yellow 
River  it  forces  the  latter  to  make  another  sharp  bend,  this 
time  towards  the  east.  As  the  mountains  strike  across 
Honan  Province  the  parallel  spurs,  running  east  and  west, 
are  called  successively  from  north  to  south  Huashan,  Fu- 
niushan,  Huailungshan  and  Huaiyangshan.  These  spurs 
fall  gradually  in  elevation  until  as  low  ranges  of  hills 
they  lose  themselves  in  the  great  plain.  But  eastwards 
beyond  the  great  plain  the  mountains  of  Shantung  lift 
themselves,  the  greatest  of  which  is  Mount  T’ai,  with  an 
elevation  of  5060  feet.  The  southern  chain  of  the  Ch’in¬ 
ling  is  called  the  Kiulung  in  the  eastern  part  and  the 
Minting  in  the  west.  It  separates  the  valley  of  the  Han 
from  that  of  the  Yangtze  and  forms  the  natural  northern 
boundary  of  Szechuen  Province.  It  has  an  elevation  of 
from  8000  to  11,000  feet.  It  stretches  southeastwards  into 
Hupei  Province  and  loses  itself  in  the  Lake  Plain. 

The  N anting. — Where  the  Ch’inling  mountains,  in 
several  parallel  chains,  reach  the  northeastern  corner  of 
Tibet  they  send  off  a  number  of  branches  toward  the  south. 
These  lofty  mountains,  called  by  various  Tibetan  names, 
are  known  to  Europeans  as  the  Snowy  Mountains  and  also 


22 


What  is  China? 


as  the  Szechuen  Alps.  They  maintain  generally  a  north 
and  south  direction,  and  rise  to  16,000  and  19,000  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  various  chains  are  separated  by  deep 
gorges,  and  severally  divide  from  one  another  the  head 
waters  of  the  Irawaddy,  the  Salween,  the  Mekong,  the 
Yangtze,  the  Yalung  and  the  Min.  They  stretch  across 
Szechuen  to  the  south  and  southeast,  and  spread  out  over 
Yunnan,  Kueichow  and  Kuangsi,  forming  the  water-shed 
between  the  Yangtze  and  the  West  River.  North  of  the 
latter  they  form  the  Nanling,  or  Southern  Range,  with  an 
elevation  of  between  5000  and  6000  feet,  which  separates 
the  provinces  of  Kuangsi  and  Kuangtung  from  those  lying 
to  the  north  of  them.  Continuing  eastwards  this  range 
unites  with  the  Ta  Yti  Ling,  5000  feet  in  height,  which, 
running  parallel  to  the  coast,  forms  the  boundary  between 
Fukien  and  Kiangsi.  Further  north,  in  Chekiang,  a  branch 
bends  towards  the  east  and  ends  in  the  sea  in  the  Chusan 
Archipelago.7 

SACRED  MOUNTAINS 

Mention  ought  to  be  made  of  the  sacred  mountains  of 
China.  To  the  Confucianist  these  are  five:  T’ai  Shan  in 
Shantung,  Hang  Shan  in  Shansi,  Sung  Shan  in  Honan, 
Hua  Shan  in  Shensi,  and  Heng  Shan  in  Hunan.  But  in 
the  opinion  of  most  Chinese  Wu  T’ai  Shan  in  Shansi  and 
Omei  in  Szechuen  are  equal  in  sanctity  to  any.  These  two 
are  shrines  for  Buddhist  pilgrims. 


THE  RIVERS 

The  mountain  chains  have  determined  the  flow  of  the 
waters,  and  these  have  gathered  in  three  great  valleys  in 
China  Proper  and  in  three  others  in  Manchuria. 

7  For  more  detailed  information  concerning  the  mountain  systems 
consult  Richard  7s  ‘  ‘  Comprehensive  Geography  of  China  7  7  and  Stan¬ 
ford  ;s  ‘‘Compendium  of  Geography,  Asia.’7  For  geological  features, 
Richtofen’s  “China, 77  Pumpelly’s  “Geological  Researches  in  China, 77 
‘  ‘  Explorations  in  Turkestan, 7  7  and  the  Carnegie  Researches  in  China 
under  Willis,  Blaekwelder  and  Sargent. 


SUNKEN  ROAD  AND  CAMELS.  PURPLE  CLOUD  MONASTERY,  WESTERN  HILLS. 


What  is  China? 


23 


The  Yellow  River,  2700  miles  long,  drains  the  northern 
provinces,  winding  in  a  tortuous  course  through  the  north¬ 
west  and  crossing  the  great  plain  to  the  Gulf  of  Chihli. 
It  is  of  slight  use  for  navigation,  and  in  its  lower  reaches 
it  frequently  overflows  its  banks  and  causes  great  distress. 

The  Yangtze  Kiang  crosses  central  China  from  west  to 
east,  and  after  a  flow  of  3200  miles  enters  the  Eastern  Sea 
near  Shanghai.  Its  principal  tributaries  are  the  Yalung, 
the  Min,  the  Ch’ung  and  the  Kialing,  in  Szechuen,  the 
Siang  in  Hunan,  the  Han  in  Hupei,  and  the  Kan  in 
Kiangsi.  It  is  one  of  the  noblest  rivers  of  the  world, 
navigable  for  over  1500  miles,  and  its  valley  is  one  of  the 
richest  and  most  populous. 

In  the  south  the  West  River  is  the  principal  water-way. 
It  rises  in  eastern  Yunnan  and  flows  in  two  branches  across 
Kuangsi  Province.  These  two  branches  unite  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  above  Wuchow,  from  which  point  to  the  sea  it  is 
navigable  for  steamers.  In  its  upper  portion  it  flows 
through  sandstone  valleys  and  is  obstructed  by  rapids.  The 
scenery  in  this  region  is  very  picturesque.  Near  Canton 
its  waters  mingle  with  those  of  the  North  and  East  Rivers 
to  form  the  Pearl  River,  in  whose  rich  alluvial  plain  Canton 
b;  situated.  The  Red  River,  the  Mekong  and  Salween  in 
the  southwest,  the  Huai  and  Ch’ient’ang  Kiang  in  central 
China,  and  the  Pei  Ho  in  Chihli  are  also  of  some  im¬ 
portance. 

In  Manchuria  the  Amur,  navigable  for  1500  miles,  and 
its  chief  affluent,  the  Sungari  with  its  tributary,  the  Nonni, 
drain  Heilungkiang  and  Kirin  Provinces.  The  Sungari 
is  navigable  to  Kirin,  about  600  miles,  and  the  Nonni 
another  150  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Sungari.  In 
the  southwest  the  Shara  Muren,  or  Liao  River,  which 
empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Chihli  below  Newchwang,  is 
navigable  for  steamers  30  miles  above  its  mouth,  and  for 
native  boats  throughout  its  course.  In  the  southeast  the 
Yalu,  a  beautiful  stream,  forms  the  boundary  between 
Manchuria  and  Korea.  It  is  navigable  only  in  its  lower 
reaches.  The  Tumen,  which  empties  into  Possiet  Bay  north 
of  Korea,  and  the  Ussuri,  a  tributary  of  the  Amur  on  the 


24 


What  is  China? 


northeastern  boundary  of  Manchuria,  are  rivers  of  less 
importance. 

THE  COAST  LINE 

The  coast  of  China  extends  in  a  rude  quadrant  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yalu  (Latitude  40  N. — Longitude  125  E.)  to 
the  border  of  Indo  China  (Latitude  21°  30'  N. — Longitude 
108°  E.)  a  distance  roughly  of  2100  miles.  The  coast,  how¬ 
ever,  has  many  indentations,  which,  included  in  the 
measurements,  make  the  coast  line  about  5000  miles.  The 
northern  coast  is  very  generally  of  an  alluvial  character, 
excepting  that  of  Shantung.  The  southern  is  granitic  in 
formation.  The  best  bays  with  deepest  water  are  found 
in  the  latter  region.  There  are  two  considerable  promon¬ 
tories,  those  of  Shantung  in  the  north  and  Leichou  in  the 
south.  Leichou,  with  the  great  island  of  Hainan  adjacent 
to  it,  is  of  about  the  same  area  as  the  Shantung  Peninsula. 
There  are  five  large  gulfs,  or  bays ;  Korea  Bay  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Yalu,  the  Gulf  of  Liaotung  at  the  mouth  of  the  Liao, 
the  Gulf  of  Chihli  (or  Peichihli)  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Hai  Ho,  Hangchow  Bay  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ch’ient’ang 
Kiang,  and  the  Gulf  of  Tonking  behind  the  Leichou  Penin¬ 
sula. 

There  are  many  islands  along  the  coast  of  China,  the 
most  important  of  which  are  the  Miao  Tao  north  of  Shan¬ 
tung  ;  the  island  of  Tsungming,  formed  within  the  last  five 
hundred  years  by  deposits  of  the  Yangtze;  Saddle  Rocks 
and  the  Chusan  Archipelago,  near  Ningpo;  The  Loochoos, 
Formosa  and  the  Pescadores,  belonging  to  Japan;  Hong¬ 
kong,  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  and  Hainan,  south  of 
Leichou. 

THE  PLAINS 

Taken  as  a  whole  the  country  must  be  considered  very 
mountainous,  but  there  are  several  important  plains.  Chief 
of  these  is  the  great  plain  formed  by  the  alluvial  deposits 
of  the  Yellow  River.  On  the  north  this  merges  with  that 
of  Chihli  Province,  deposited  anciently  in  large  part  around 
an  old  mouth  of  the  Yellow  River,  and  in  part  by  the  Pei 


What  is  China? 


25 


Ho  and  other  affluents  of  the  Hai  Ho.  Behind  the  promon¬ 
tory  of  Shantung  the  Yellow  River  Plain  merges  to  the 
south  with  that  formed  in  the  delta  of  the  Yangtze.  Taken 
together  these  three  plains  constitute  the  richest  agricul¬ 
tural  region  of  China.  Another  important  plain,  whose 
soil  is  no  less  rich  but  whose  extent  is  much  smaller,  is 
that  found  in  the  delta  of  the  Pearl  River  around  Canton. 
West  of  Hankow  is  another  great  plain,  that  of  Hupei, 
some  4000  square  miles  in  extent,  interlaced  with  lakes 
and  canals. 

Still  farther  up  the  Yangtze,  in  the  province  of  Szechuen, 
is  the  fertile  plain  of  Chengtu,  containing  some  2000  square 
miles,  shut  in  on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains,  through 
whose  rocky  barriers  the  Yangtze  has  worn  its  way.  Its 
irrigation  system,  which  dates  from  the  third  century  B.C., 
is  one  of  the  marvels  of  early  engineering  skill.  It  has 
made  the  plain  of  Chengtu  one  of  the  most  populous  and 
prosperous  regions  of  China.  It  is  estimated  that  five 
millions  of  people  occupy  this  small  plain. 

LAKES 

China  is  abundantly  supplied  with  lakes,  both  fresh  water 
and  salt.  The  great  fresh  water  lakes  are  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley;  Tungting  in  Hunan,  Poyang  in  Kiangsi,  Ch’ao  in 
Anhui,  Hungtse,  partly  in  Kiangsu  and  partly  in  Anhui, 
and  T’ai  Hu  in  Kiangsu.  There  are  two  fresh  water  lakes 
of  considerable  size  in  Yunnan;  Erh  Hai  and  Tien  Hu. 
In  Tibet,  Ch’inghai,  Turkestan  and  Mongolia  there  are 
numerous  lakes,  some  of  them  of  large  extent,  whose  waters, 
having  no  outlet,  have  become  brackish.  In  Mongolia,  how¬ 
ever,  there  is  one  great  fresh  water  lake,  the  Koso  Gol, 
which  is  the  source  of  the  Selenga  River. 

DESERTS 

There  are  two  great  deserts  in  China;  the  Gobi  and  the 
Taklamakan,  or  Tarim.  The  former  covers  a  large  part  of 
Mongolia  and  extends  into  eastern  Turkestan.  The  latter 
is  practically  an  extension  of  the  former  into  western 


26 


What  is  China? 


Chinese  Turkestan.  To  the  Chinese  the  Taklamakan  is  also 
known  as  the  ‘  ‘  Desert  of  Moving  Sands.  ’  ’ 8  This  expressive 
term  well  describes  the  chief  characteristic  of  this  desolate 
region,  where  whole  towns,  abandoned  twenty  centuries 
ago,  have  been  buried  under  the  waves  of  this  great  sea 
of  sand.  This  desert  is  the  dry  basin  of  an  ancient  sea. 
It  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains  that  rise 
into  the  regions  of  eternal  snow.  The  basin  itself  has  an 
elevation  of  3000  to  4000  feet  above  sea  level,  but  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Turkestan  there  are  depressions  which 
sink  to  sea  level  and  possibly  still  lower.  These  depressions, 
however,  are  included  in  the  region  called  by  the  name  of 
the  Gobi  Desert.  This  is  the  lowest  portion  of  the  Mon¬ 
golian  tableland,  which  is  a  rocky  waste  averaging  2500 
to  3000  feet  above  sea  level.  It  is  not  entirely  destitute  of 
vegetation,  however,  since  grass  springs  up  in  its  south¬ 
eastern  part  in  the  spring.  These  desert  regions  on  the 
northwestern  borders  of  China  have  had  great  influence 
upon  its  climate,  as  already  said. 

CLIMATE 

China  extends  over  many  degrees  of  latitude  and  longi¬ 
tude,  and  varies  greatly  in  the  elevation  of  different  regions. 
Its  climate  varies  accordingly.  In  the  far  south  we  find  a 
moist,  tropical  climate;  in  the  north  a  dryer  atmosphere, 
with  a  short,  hot  summer  and  a  longer  and  fairly  cold 
winter,  and  on  the  snow-clad  peaks  an  arctic  temperature. 
There  are,  however,  two  well-marked  seasons,  summer  and 
winter.  A  brief  spring  and  a  more  prolonged  autumn 
separate  these. 

Along  the  coast  and  to  a  lesser  degree  in  the  interior 
the  climate  is  governed  by  the  monsoons.9  In  the  spring 
and  summer  the  air  over  the  elevated  table-land  of  Mongolia 
and  over  the  deserts  of  Turkestan  becomes  heated,  and 
rises,  causing  an  inflow  from  the  south.  This  spring  wind 

sLegge’s  translation  of  the  Shu  King.  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
Vol.  II,  p.  76. 

9  See  China  Year  Book  1921-22,  p.  80;  and  Richard’s  “ Compre¬ 
hensive  Geography,”  p.  14. 


What  is  China? 


n 


brings  with  it  moisture  from  the  sea.  The  rains  advance 
from  south  to  north  with  the  advancing  season,  but  fall 
more  abundantly  in  the  south. 

In  the  winter  the  Mongolian  table-land  and  the  deserts 
of  northwest  China  quickly  become  cooled,  and  this  cold 
air  rushes  down  into  the  lower  levels  and  lower  latitudes. 
These  northern  and  northwestern  winds  bring  with  them 
at  times  great  clouds  of  yellow  dust,  which  settles  over 
north  China  in  the  formation  known  as  the  loess.  It  is 
found  in  greatest  quantity  in  the  mountainous  regions  of 
Shensi  and  on  the  table-land  of  Shansi,  but  also  in  lesser 
amounts  covering  the  higher  levels  of  the  great  plain  in 
Honan  and  Chihli  and  in  considerable  quantity  in  Shan¬ 
tung.  The  winds  at  times  blow  with  great  force  and  bear 
this  finely  comminuted  dust  as  far  south  as  the  banks  of 
the  Yangtze. 

FLOOD  AND  FAMINE 

The  history  of  China  discloses  the  fact  that  from  the 
twenty-third  century  B.C.  to  the  present  time  China  has 
frequently  suffered  from  flood  and  drought.  Both  have 
created  famine  conditions  and  caused  great  loss  of  life.  In 
the  twenty-third  century  B.C.  the  floods  of  the  Yellow 
River  were  so  extensive  as  to  be  represented  as  “assailing 
the  heavens/’  and  as  “embracing  the  hills  and  topping  the 
great  heights.”  10  The  Great  Yu,  it  is  said,  occupied  nine 
years  in  his  work  of  creating  channels  for  the  superfluous 
waters.  In  1766  B.C.  there  was  a  great  drought  which 
lasted  until  1761  B.C— seven  years.  It  was  so  severe  that, 
as  related  above,  the  sovereign  is  reported  to  have  decided 
to  offer  himself  as  a  sacrifice  to  Heaven  to  remove  the  awful 
calamity.  While  he  was  praying,  it  is  said,  the  rains  came 
and  put  and  end  to  the  drought. 

Alexander  Hosie,  of  the  British  Consular  Service  in 
China,  made  a  careful  study  of  droughts  in  China  from 
A.D.  620  to  1643,  a  period  of  1023  years,11  during  which 

10  See  Legge’fe  translation  of  the  Shu  King,  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  34-35. 

11  Journal  of  China  Branch  Koyal  Asiatic  Society,  Vol.  XII,  N.  S. 
p.  51. 


28 


What  is  China? 


he  found  that  Chinese  histories  recorded  583  years  in  which 
drought  had  occurred.  That  would  mean  one  every  two 
years  or  less.  But  these  droughts  did  not  occur  every  time 
in  the  same  provinces.  Some  years  one  region  was  affected ; 
at  other  times  other  regions.  It  is  impossible  at  present 
to  say  that  these  droughts  have  occurred  at  regular  in¬ 
tervals  in  any  one  district,  but  there  seems  some  reason 
to  suspect  that  this  is  the  case.  A  degree  of  drought  often 
occurs  which  does  not  result  in  entire  destruction  of  the 
crops.  In  such  cases  no  real  famine  occurs.  We  find, 
however,  that  from  A.D.  801  to  1643,  that  is  to  say  during 
842  years,  there  were  214  severe  droughts,  which  would 
imply  that  one  occurred  every  four  years  or  oftener.  But 
these,  too,  occurred  in  different  sections  of  the  country. 
There  would  seem  to  be  an  alternation  in  northern  China 
of  flood  and  drought.  In  1877  and  1878  there  was  a  great 
famine  in  Shantung  and  adjoining  provinces.  Ten  years 
later — 1887 — there  was  an  awful  flood  in  the  Yellow  River, 
which  affected  the  same  region.  In  1892-94  a  great  famine 
visited  the  same  region.  Five  years  later — 1898 — there 
were  great  floods  in  this  same  Yellow  River  Valley.  Other 
floods  visited  the  region  in  1905-6,  1910-11,  and  in  1917. 
The  most  recent  drought  and  famine  in  that  region  visited 
it  in  1920-21.  This  record  is  too  incomplete  and  covers  too 
brief  a  period  to  allow  us  to  deduce  any  rule,  but  the 
matter  is  one  well  worth  investigation.  An  examination 
of  the  Chinese  historical  records,  which  are  very  detailed, 
would  enable  us  to  determine  the  facts  with  respect  to  any 
one  chosen  region — the  Yellow  River  Valley  for  instance. 

Ellsworth  Huntington  in  his  “Pulse  of  Asia,”  and  in 
a  more  recent  volume,  “Climatic  Changes,”  prepared  in 
collaboration  with  Stephen  Sargent  Visher,  has  called  at¬ 
tention  to  the  periodicity  of  certain  climatic  changes.12 
Some  of  these  occur  in  brief  cycles  that  may  be  measured 
in  years.  Others  are  measured  in  decades,  some  in  cen¬ 
turies,  and  others  still  in  millions  of  years.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that,  should  these  recurring  droughts  and  floods 
be  found  to  come  in  regular  cycles,  the  aridity  or  humidity 

12  Op.  cit.  Chapter  Y  and  elsewhere. 


What  is  China? 


29 


would  be  emphasized  or  modified  and  the  period  be  length¬ 
ened  or  shortened  by  the  approach  to  the  beginning  or  end 
of  other  cycles  of  greater  length.  At  present  central  Asia 
is  suffering  from  excessive  aridity.  Six  hundred  years  ago, 
in  the  14th  century,  that  region  was  far  more  humid  than 
to-day.  The  Caspian  Sea  stood  thirty-seven  feet  above  its 
present  level.13 

The  authors  just  quoted  appear  to  believe  that  one  of 
the  most  important  factors  in  producing  these  periodic 
changes  is  the  influence  of  the  sun  upon  our  atmosphere. 
They  say: 

A  detailed  study  has  led  to  the  conclusion  that  cyclonic  storms 
are  influenced  by  the  electrical  action  of  the  sun.  Such  action 
appears  to  be  most  intense  in  sunspots,  but  apparently  pertains 
also  to  other  disturbed  areas  in  the  sun’s  atmosphere.  A  study 
of  sunspots  suggests  that  their  true  periodicity  is  almost  if  not 
exactly  identical  with  that  of  the  orbital  revolution  of  Jupiter, 
11.8  years.  Other  investigations  show  numerous  remarkable  co¬ 
incidences  between  sunspots  and  the  orbital  revolution  of  the 
other  planets,  including  especially  Saturn  and  Mercury.  This 
seems  to  indicate  that  there  is  some  truth  in  the  hypothesis  that 
sunspots  and  other  related  disturbances  of  the  solar  atmosphere 
owe  their  periodicity  to  the  varying  effects  of  the  planets  as 
they  approach  and  recede  from  the  sun  in  their  eccentric  orbits 
and  as  they  combine  or  oppose  their  effects  according  to  their 
relative  positions.14 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  not  all  parts  of  the 
earth  are  affected  in  the  same  way  by  the  electrical  action 
of  the  sun.  The  authors  of  climatic  changes  say : 

With  the  change  in  storminess  there  naturally  goes  a  change 
in  rainfall.  Not  all  parts  of  the  world,  however,  have  increased 
storminess  and  more  abundant  rainfall  when  sunspots  are  nu¬ 
merous.  Some  parts  change  in  the  opposite  way.15 

If  this  hypothesis  is  confirmed  by  further  investigation 
we  may  expect  to  find  some  relation  between  the  periodical 
disturbances  of  the  sun’s  atmosphere  and  the  occurrence 
of  drought  and  floods  in  China. 

13  ibid,  p.  104. 

1*  Ibid,  p.  243. 

is  Ibid,  p.  53. 


30 


What  is  China? 


But,  this  speculation  aside,  there  are  other  factors  of  the 
problem  whose  influence  is  more  easily  measured.  It  has 
been  pointed  out  that  the  rapid  rise  of  temperature  in 
the  high  lands  of  Mongolia  and  the  desert  regions  of  central 
Asia  causes  the  air  over  those  places  to  rise  and  the  cooler 
air  of  the  south  to  flow  in.  If  then  for  any  reason  this 
rise  of  temperature  is  not  so  great  the  wind  from  the  south 
will  be  weak,  and  the  moisture  with  which  it  is  laden  may 
be  deposited  almost  entirely  in  the  southern  provinces  and 
thus  create  a  want  of  rain  in  the  north.  Huntington  and 
Visher,  discussing  the  famines  in  India  in  the  fourteenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  say: 

These  Indian  famines  were  apparently  due  to  weak  summer 
monsoons  caused  presumably  by  the  failure  of  central  Asia  to 
warm  up  as  much  as  usual.  The  heavier  snowfall,  and  the  greater 
cloudiness  of  the  summer  there,  which  probably  accompanied 
increased  storminess,  may  have  been  the  reason. 

In  1920  when  there  was  a  drought  in  the  Yellow  Biver 
Valley  the  floods  in  central  China  were  so  severe  as  to 
cause  destruction  of  life  and  property  in  those  provinces. 
Another  factor  which  possibly  contributes  to  the  severity 
of  drought  is  the  occurrence  of  the  dust  storms  in  the  early 
spring  months.  The  dust  which  settles  over  the  northern 
provinces  is  equivalent  to  a  top  dressing,  and  when  water 
is  plentiful  adds  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  but  the  loess 
formed  by  this  dust  is  very  porous.  Water  sinks  through 
it  very  rapidly,  and  should  the  rains  fail  or  be  less  than 
usual  the  very  dryness  of  the  deposited  dust  may  perhaps 
increase  the  disastrous  effect  of  the  drought. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  deforestation 
of  China.  The  hills  for  the  most  part  are  barren,  save 
for  the  crop  of  coarse  grass  and  brush-wood  which  is  cut 
every  year  by  the  fuel  gatherers.  This  destruction  of 
forests  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  causes  of  drought 
and  flood.  Doubtless  this  has  been  a  factor  in  the  problem, 
but  we  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  drought  and  flood 
occurred  in  the  earliest  history  of  China,  when  forests  still 
covered  the  mountains,  and  that  they  have  occurred  at 


What  is  China? 


31 


intervals  ever  since.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  flood 
of  the  twenty-third  century  B.C.,  and  the  famine  of  the 
eighteenth  century  B.C.  In  the  year  544  B.C.  a  treaty 
signed  by  a  number  of  Chinese  princes  stipulated  in  its 
fifth  article  that  mutual  succor  should  be  given  in  time 
of  famine.16  This  would  imply  a  frequent  occurrence  of 
such  calamities.  Yet  at  that  time  these  princes  maintained 
each  in  his  own  dominions  forests  for  hunting  grounds. 

The  suffering  from  famine  can  be  greatly  reduced  by  the 
improvement  of  communications  in  China.  The  difficulty 
and  expense  of  transporting  grain  from  one  part  of  the 
country  to  another  has  greatly  increased  the  distress. 

10  See  Martin’s  “Lore  of  Cathay,’ ’  p.  441. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  CHINA 

Beyond  the  Northwestern  Sea,  west  of  the  Bed  Biver,  is  the  King¬ 
dom  of  the  Forefathers,  who  lived  on  grain.  .  .  .  Still  westward 
are  the  Wangmu  Mountains,  a  vast  range,  where  the  Kingdom  of 
Wu  is  located,  whose  people  feed  upon  the  eggs  of  the  wild  phoenix 
and  drink  sweet  dew.  Their  every  wish  is  gratified  as  soon  as  uttered. 

— The  Shan  Hai  King. 

The  vast  area,  which  has  just  been  described,  covers 
many  degrees  of  latitude  and  longitude,  as  has  been  said. 
It  contains  the  loftiest  mountains  in  the  world  and  some 
of  the  most  extensive  plains.  It  is  a  land  of  great  deserts 
and  of  fertile  valleys,  and  one  of  great  variety  in  soil  and 
climate.  In  it  also  dwell  many  races  of  people.  The 
dominant  race,  and  the  race  that  outnumbers  all  the  others, 
put  together,  is  the  Chinese. 

The  Chinese,  however,  were  not  the  earliest  inhabitants 
of  China.  Neither  did  they  originate  as  a  people  in  the 
land  after  which  they  are  called.  Their  origin  has  been  a 
subject  of  speculation  by  various  writers.  The  weight  of 
evidence  seems  to  favor  the  opinion  that  they  had  their 
beginning  in  central  Asia,  and  that  they  came  into  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Yellow  River  about  the  beginning  of 
the  third  millennium  B.C. 

CAUSE  OF  MIGRATION 

The  cause  of  their  migration  from  their  ancient  home 
in  all  probability  was  the  progressive  desiccation  of  that 
region.  At  the  close  of  the  last  glacial  epoch,  as  Professor 
Pumpelly  has  reminded  us,1  the  northern  coast  of  Asia 
was  covered  by  the  ice  cap.  Central  Asia  was  a  region  of 

1  ‘  ‘  Explorations  in  Turkestan, 7  ’  1904,  Carnegie  Institute,  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C.,  p.  xxiv. 


32 


33 


The  Beginnings  of  China 

great  inland  seas  and  of  a  moist  climate.  There  are  six 
great  basins,  covering  altogether  the  greater  part  of  a 
region  measuring  three  thousand  miles  east  and  west  by 
sixteen  hundred  north  and  south,  extending  from  the  west¬ 
ern  border  of  Manchuria  to  the  western  end  of  the  Black 
Sea.2  During  the  glacial  period  these  basins  were  filled 
with  water,  and  at  that  time  the  straits  of  the  Bosphorus 
did  not  exist.  There  was  no  outlet  to  the  ocean.  Upon 
the  shores  of  these  seas  there  developed  the  earliest  civiliza¬ 
tion  of  which  man  has  any  knowledge.  The  region  was 
entirely  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  City  states 
apparently  were  founded  whose  inhabitants  attained  to  a 
high  degree  of  culture.  In  certain  mounds  of  central  Asia 
some  of  the  remains  of  this  ancient  civilization  have  been 
found. 


pumpelly ’s  exploration 

In  1903  and  again  in  1904  Professor  Raphael  Pumpelly 
visited  the  oases  of  Merv  and  Anau.  At  the  latter  place, 
near  Askabad,  excavations  were  made  at  two  sites.  In  the 
shafts  that  were  sunk  important  cultural  remains  were 
found  in  various  strata,  the  lowest  of  which  is  dated  by 
Pumpelly  as  belonging  to  the  ninth  millennium  B.C.3,  that 
is  to  say,  2000  years  earlier  than  any  remains  found  in 
Egypt  or  Babylonia.  It  appears  from  the  discoveries  made 
that  the  inhabitants,  even  at  the  date  represented  by  the 
lowest  layer  of  the  mounds  examined,  were  already  culti¬ 
vators  of  the  soil  and  were  growing  wheat  and  barley,  that 
they  lived  in  houses  of  sun-dried  brick,  that  they  hunted 
wild  animals,  and  that  during  the  eighth  millennium  B.C. 
they  domesticated  the  ox,  pig  and  sheep.  Before  the  fifth 
millennium  B.C.  they  had  added  the  dog,  the  camel  and  the 
goat.4  By  comparison  with  the  results  of  explorations  in 
other  parts  of  the  world  it  was  deduced  that  these  animals 
were  the  progenitors  of  those  later  introduced  into  western 
Asia  and  into  Europe.  In  other  words  it  seems  most  prob- 

2  Ellsworth  Huntington,  “The  Pulse  of  Asia, M  p.  356. 

8  Pumpelly,  op.  cit.,  p.  57. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  38,  39,  51,  and  50. 


34 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


able  that  in  the  region  of  central  Asia,  rather  than  else¬ 
where,  we  must  look  for  the  cradle  of  civilization. 

The  domestication  of  animals  led  to  a  differentiation  in 
the  peoples  of  central  Asia.  Some  became  shepherds  and, 
as  pasture  lands  were  needed,  these  men  moved  about  with 
their  flocks  and  herds,  while  the  cultivators  of  the  soil 
remained  in  the  towns  around  which  their  cultivated  fields 
were  found. 

Numerous  mounds  remain  in  central  Asia  still  unex¬ 
plored.  Their  examination  will  doubtless  shed  much  more 
light  upon  the  early  history  of  our  race.  Professor  Pum- 
pelly  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  oases  of  central  Asia 
are  the  fountain  of  western  Asiatic  culture.  He  might 
have  added  with  equal  confidence  that  they  are  also  the 
fountain  of  eastern  Asiatic  culture. 

DESICCATION  OF  CENTRAL  ASIA 

As  the  ice  cap  melted  and  receded  in  northern  Asia  the 
climate  gradually  changed.  It  became  dryer.  This  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  an  uninterrupted  process.  There 
were  periods  of  glacial  expansion  followed  by  periods  of 
recession.5  There  were  periods  of  moisture  and  abundant 
vegetation  followed  by  periods  of  comparative  aridity. 
Evaporation  proceeded  more  rapidly  than  precipitation  or 
inflow  of  water.  This  was  due  in  part,  it  seems,  to  the  fact 
that  the  rain-laden  clouds  that  blow  up  from  the  Indian 
Ocean  strike  against  the  loftiest  mountains  of  the  world 
and  deposit  their  moisture  chiefly  on  their  southern  slopes.6 

Thus  the  region  of  these  great  mediterranean  seas  of 
central  Asia  became  more  and  more  arid.  The  seas  them¬ 
selves  gradually  decreased  in  volume.  The  process  is  still 
going  on.  Lake  Balkash  is  much  smaller  than  in  the  18th 
century ;  thousands  of  square  miles  once  covered  with  water 
have  become  dry  land.  Lob  Nor,  in  Chinese  Turkestan, 
has  very  considerably  decreased  within  the  memory  of  men 
still  living;  the  lake  has  become  in  great  part  merely  a 

5  Ibid.,  pp.  57-60. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  3. 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


35 


marsh.  The  soil  of  Turkestan  has  become  so  brackish  in 
many  places  that  Chinese  peasants  who  were  cultivating  it 
in  1890  have  been  compelled  to  remove  to  other  districts.7 
Numerous  cities  in  Chinese  Turkestan  that  were  busy 
centers  of  life  and  trade  two  thousand  years  ago  are  to-day 
buried  beneath  the  drifting  sand.  Sir  Aurel  Stein,  in  his 
three  expeditions  to  that  region,  has  uncovered  a  few  of 
these  ancient  places  that  in  the  third  century  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  era  were  still  peopled  and  prosperous.8 

The  great  climatic  changes  which  have  converted  the 
once  fertile  and  peopled  regions  of  central  Asia  into  wind¬ 
swept  deserts  of  moving  sands  are  in  all  probability  the 
real  causes  of  the  migrations,  eastward  and  westward  that 
have  taken  place. 

THE  SUMERIANS 

Jastrow,  in  his  “Civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,” 
says  that  the  Sumerians  very  possibly  entered  the  Eu¬ 
phrates  Valley  from  the  mountainous  regions  east  or  north¬ 
east  of  Babylonia.9  He  asks  “Who  were  the  Sumerians?” 
and  answers  thus : 

We  know  that  they  were  not  Semites;  their  features  as  depicted 
on  the  monuments  reveal  a  Turanian  type,  but  the  term,  Tura¬ 
nian,  is  too  vague  to  furnish  a  definite  clue. 

It  is  not  improbable  then  that  the  climatic  changes  that 
were  taking  place  in  central  Asia,  and  which  were  causing 
the  ancient  seats  of  civilization  to  be  abandoned,  may  have 
been  the  direct  or  indirect  cause  of  the  migration  of  the 
Sumerians  into  the  Euphrates  Valley. 

Jastrow  tells  us,  moreover,  that  the  Sumerians  brought 
with  them  a  higher  form  of  civilization  than  they  found 
in  their  new  home,  and  that  they  imposed  it  upon  the  in¬ 
habitants  there  whom  they  subdued.  The  Sumerian  writ¬ 
ten  language  became  the  language  of  the  conquered  and 
the  origin  of  the  cuneiform  writing.10 

7  Ellsworth  Huntington,  Pulse  of  Asia/’  pp.  219,  266,  267. 

8  ‘ 1  The  Sand  Buried  Ruins  of  Khotan, f  ’  p.  405. 

9  Op.  cit.,  106  and  107. 

10  i  1  Hebrew  and  Babylonian  Traditions,  ’ 1  pp.  9  and  10. 


36 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


CHINESE  AND  SUMERIAN 

Professor  C.  J.  Ball,  of  Oxford,  has  pointed  out  that  the 
earliest  form  of  this  writing  was  ideographic,  and  in  his 
work  “Chinese  and  Sumerian, ”  he  gives  a  list  of  108 
ideograms  in  Sumerian  with  which  he  identifies  certain 
old  Chinese  characters.  He  publishes,  too,  a  vocabulary  of 
more  than  a  thousand  words  from  the  Sumerian  which  he 
shows  to  be  substantially  identical  in  sound  and  meaning 
with  their  Chinese  equivalents.  We  are  not  to  conclude 
from  this  that  Chinese  and  Sumerian  are  identical,  neither 
are  we  necessarily  to  infer  that  one  borrowed  from  the 
other,  but  merely  that  the  two  languages  are  derived  from 
a  common  source.  That  source  would  seem  to  be  found  in 
central  Asia. 

CHINESE  EMIGRANTS 

About  the  beginning  of  the  third  millennium  B.C.  a 
period  of  excessive  aridity  began  in  central  Asia,  driving 
many  of  the  more  adventurous  spirits  to  seek  new  homes 
in  less  sterile  regions.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Hsuan- 
yiian  (the  name  of  Huangti,  or  “the  Yellow  Emperor”), 
is  believed  to  have  led  the  first  band  of  emigrants  towards 
China,  stopping  for  a  time,  it  would  seem,  at  the  Red  River 
in  Northern  Kansu.  Subsequently  he  appears  to  have 
removed  some  three  hundred  miles  toward  the  south-east, 
where  Ch’inchou,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Wei  River 
in  eastern  Kansu,  is  associated  with  his  name.  Hsuanhua- 
fu,  125  miles  northwest  of  Peking,  also  claims  to  have  been 
his  capital,  which  would  indicate  a  further  removal  east¬ 
wards. 

These  pioneers  were  followed  by  others  at  different  times. 
Some  of  these  seem  to  have  followed  the  Yellow  River  to 
its  northern  bend  and  pressed  eastward  to  Hsiianhua  and 
then  southward  to  Pingyang,  in  Shansi,  which  is  the  tra¬ 
ditional  site  of  Yao’s  capital.  Others  settled  south  of  the 
Yellow  River,  east  of  the  great  bend,  some  in  the  valley 
of  the  Wei  near  the  modern  city  of  Hsian,  and  others  still 
in  the  northern  part  of  Shensi. 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


37 


THE  CHINESE  ARE  TOWNSMEN 

Professor  Pumpelly  has  stated  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  oases  of  central  Asia  became  divided  into  city  dwellers 
and  nomad  herdsmen.  It  is  significant  that  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  Chinese  ever  passed  through  the  pastoral 
stage  of  social  evolution.  Like  the  city  dwellers  on  the 
oasis  of  Anau,  who  had  learned  to  cultivate  the  cereals 
although  still  living  in  the  town,  so  the  Chinese  through 
all  their  history,  so  far  as  it  is  available,  have  been  rep¬ 
resented  as  cultivators  of  the  soil,  but  also  as  living  in  vil¬ 
lages  and  towns,  and  this  is  a  striking  characteristic  of 
Chinese  agricultural  life  to-day.  The  farmers  build  their 
houses  in  villages,  around  which  their  fields  are  located. 
Isolated  farm  houses  are  rare.  This  will  help  us  to  under¬ 
stand  the  references  in  Mencius  and  elsewhere  to  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  having  the  city,  i.e.,  the  inhabited  portion,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  uninhabited  fields  (chiao),  these  surrounded  by 
the  pastures  for  the  domestic  animals  and  these  again  by 
the  wilds.11  The  “ Royal  Regulations”  of  the  Li  Ki  tell 
us  that  in  ancient  China  there  were  nine  provinces,  each 
containing  210  states.  These  states  were  held  in  fief  and 
were  of  various  sizes  according  to  the  rank  of  the  ruler. 
They  were,  of  course,  city  states,  each  with  its  allotment 
of  agricultural  land,  pasturage  and  woodland.  What  was 
not  so  allotted  was  reserved  as  imperial,  or  public  prop¬ 
erty.12 

TESTIMONY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  RECORDS 

The  most  ancient  records  of  the  Chinese  reach  back  into 
the  third  millennium,  B.C.  They  are  but  fragments  but 
they  serve  to  show  that  even  at  that  early  date  the  Chinese 
had  a  well  organized  social  and  political  system.  The 
Book  of  History  begins  with  the  reign  of  Yao,  2356  B.C. 
If  we  accept  the  view  generally  held  that  Yao’s  capital 
was  in  Shansi,  we  must  agree  that  the  Chinese,  if  they 
came  from  any  other  region  into  the  Yellow  River  Valley, 

11  Mencius,  Bk.  1,  Part  1,  Ch.  4.  See  Legge’s  footnote. 

12  Li  Ki,  Bk.  Ill,  Sect.  1:8. 


38 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


must  have  brought  a  high  degree  of  civilization  with  them. 
There  is  nowhere  any  evidence  of  their  having  in  Chinese 
territory  lived  under  stone-age  conditions.  They  were  al¬ 
ready  acquainted  with  the  use  of  metals.  The  Ruler  had 
a  Minister  of  Works,  a  Minister  of  Instruction,  a  Minister 
of  Crime,  and  a  Director  of  Religion.  They  had  a  very 
respectable  body  of  astronomical  knowledge.  One  of  the 
principal  functions  of  government  was  to  arrange  the  cal¬ 
endar,  which  required  a  careful  determination  of  the  sol¬ 
stices  and  equinoxes.  They  had  also  an  elaborate  ritual 
for  the  worship  of  God,  the  forces  of  nature,  the  spirits 
of  the  great  dead  and  their  own  ancestors.  There  were 
three  rituals;  one  for  the  worship  of  the  Spirits  of  Heaven, 
including  Shang  Ti  (i.e.,  the  Supreme  Being),  another  for 
the  Spirits  of  Earth,  and  a  third  for  the  worship  of  the 
Spirits  of  Men.  In  another  chapter  I  shall  call  attention 
to  the  resemblance  between  portions  of  their  ritual  and  that 
used  by  the  Hebrews.  This  does  not  mean  that  they  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  Hebrews,  but  that  both  systems  probably 
have  a  common  origin — an  origin  in  central  Asian  culture. 

The  ancient  Chinese  of  the  time  of  Yao  and  Shun  had 
also  a  system  of  music  and  a  great  variety  of  musical  in¬ 
struments. 

Others  have  called  attention  to  the  identity  of  a  great 
body  of  astronomical  lore  possessed  in  common  by  the 
Chinese  and  Chaldeans ;  the  use  of  a  cycle  of  60,  of  a  deci¬ 
mal  system,  a  musical  scale,  a  system  of  astrology  based 
upon  acquaintance  with  five  planets,  five  elements,  five 
correlated  colors,  and  a  belief  in  the  harmonies  of  numbers, 
as  well  as  a  multitude  of  other  customs.  They  had  a  com¬ 
mon  family  law  and  were  both  worshipers  of  their 
ancestors. 

The  possession  of  a  common  culture  does  not,  of  course, 
prove  consanguinity,  and  in  fact  there  is  no  relationship 
with  Chaldeans  to  be  established.  The  theory  of  a  western 
origin  of  Chinese  civilization  has  been  discredited  by  at¬ 
tempts  to  prove  that  the  Chinese  are  Aryan,  as  one  writer 
has  done,  or,  as  another  has  affirmed,  that  the  Yellow 
Emperor  came  with  a  band  of  emigrants  from  Elam  to 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


89 


China,  and  that  these  founders  of  the  Chinese  State  did 
not  belong  to  the  Yellow  Race  but  had  blue  eyes  that  were 
wanting  in  obliqueness. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  THEORY  OF  A  WESTERN  ORIGIN  FOR 

THE  CHINESE 

Dr.  Frederic  Hirth,  in  his  article  on  China  in  the  Elev¬ 
enth  Edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,13  objects  to 
the  theory  that  there  is  any  connection  between  the  Chinese 
and  the  people  of  western  Asia,  because  the  human  eye  is 
always  represented  by  the  Chinese  as  obliquely  placed. 
He  says: 

In  a  pair  of  eyes  as  shown  in  the  most  ancient  pictorial  or 
sculptural  representations  in  the  West,  the  four  corners  may  be 
connected  by  a  horizontal  straight  line,  whereas  lines  drawn 
through  the  eye  of  one  of  the  oldest  Chinese  hieroglyphics  cross 
each  other  at  a  sharp  angle.  This  does  not  speak  for  racial  con¬ 
sanguinity  any  more  than  the  well-known  curled  heads  and 
bearded  faces  of  Assyrian  sculptures  as  compared  to  the  straight¬ 
haired  and  almost  beardless  Chinese. 

These  objections  by  Professor  Hirth  were  particularly  di¬ 
rected,  however,  against  the  curious  theory,  already  noticed, 
that  the  Chinese  forefathers  had  come  to  China  from  the 
region  of  Elam  in  Chaldea.  His  article  was  written  ap¬ 
parently  before  the  discovery  that  the  Sumerians  were  of  a 
different  race  from  the  Accadians  of  the  Mesopotamian 
region^  L.  W.  King,  in  his  History  of  Sumer  and  Accad, 
says  of  the  Sumerians: 

The  racial  affinity  of  the  Sumerians  is  problematical.  The 
obliquely -set  eyes  of  figures  in  early  relief  suggested  the  theory 
of  a  Mongol  origin  and  the  Chinese  origin  of  Sumerian  roots  and 
the  cuneiform  character.14 

This  reference  to  the  obliquely-set  eyes  at  least  removes 
Dr.  Hirth ’s  objection  to  any  connection  between  the  peoples 
of  eastern  and  western  Asia.  Mr.  King  says  the  theory  of 
Chinese  origin  of  the  Sumerian  roots  and  cuneiform  char¬ 
ts  Op.  cit.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  191. 

14  See  “A  History  of  Sumer  and  Accad,”  London,  1910,  p.  54. 


40 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


acters  is  “too  improbable  to  need  refutation. 7 7  It  is  not 
claimed,  however,  that  the  discoveries  of  Professor  Ball 
show  that  the  Sumerian  writing  was  derived  from  China 
or  that  Chinese  writing  was  derived  from  Sumerian,  but 
rather  that  both  had  a  common  origin.  Similarly  the  fact 
that  Sumerians  had  obliquely-set  eyes  does  not  prove  that 
Sumerians  were  Chinese,  but  does  indicate  a  possible  racial 
affinity  and  common  origin. 

The  late  Kev.  John  Eoss,  in  his  “Origin  of  the  Chinese 
People/7  held  to  the  theory  that  the  Chinese  originated 
in  China  and  that  their  civilization  was  indigenous.  Pro¬ 
fessor  Hirth  and  Professor  Giles  agree  with  that  opinion. 
The  principal  reason  advanced  for  it  is  that  Chinese  his¬ 
tory  contains  no  record  of  a  migration  from  other  regions, 
and  seems  to  assume  that  the  earliest  events  of  which  it 
takes  note  occurred  in  the  Valley  of  the  Yellow  Kiver.  But 
the  fact  that  Chinese  history  says  nothing  of  a  migration 
from  other  regions  into  China  is  at  best  but  negative  evi¬ 
dence,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  this  instance  it  can 
have  little  weight,  seeing  that  the  earliest  records  that  are 
contemporary  with  the  events  which  they  record  date  from 
a  period  a  thousand  years  after  the  time  of  the  supposed 
migration. 

Dr.  L.  Wieger,  a  French  scholar,  tries  to  establish  a 
southern  origin  for  the  Chinese,  and  one  of  the  reasons 
given  for  such  a  theory  is  that  the  earliest  ideograms  of 
the  Chinese  language  betray  an  acquaintance  with  the 
tropics.  But  it  may  be  said  in  reply  that  we  do  not  know 
which  ideograms  were  in  existence  3000  years  B.C.  More¬ 
over  the  oldest  known  ideograms  contain  pictures,  not  only 
of  tropical  animals  and  plants,  but  of  others  that  are  known 
only  in  the  colder  regions  of  the  north.  They  include  such 
animals  as  the  ox,  sheep,  goat,  horse,  dog,  pig,  deer,  rat, 
toad,  fish,  tortoise,  hare,  cobra,  rhinoceros,  elephant,  dragon, 
unicorn  and  tiger.  Among  plants  mentioned  are  the  willow, 
apple,  melon,  clover,  wheat,  bamboo,  grass,  hemp,  flax,  and 
millet.  These  are  temperate  rather  than  tropical  plants. 
The  inscriptions,  moreover,  date  from  about  1100  B.C.  and 
the  written  language  was  in  existence  long  before  that  date. 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


41 


CHINESE  TRADITIONS 

Despite  the  contrary  opinion  expressed  by  such  sino¬ 
logues  as  Hirth,  Ross  and  Giles,  it  can  be  affirmed  that 
Chinese  traditions  do  indicate  a  western  origin  for  the 
Chinese  people.  Some  of  these  traditions  are  preserved 
in  alwork  called  the  Shan  Hai  King  or  ‘‘Classic  of  the 
Mountains  and  Seas/'  a  sort  of  geography  of  China  and 
neighboring  countries.  It  has  been  discredited  because 
of  the  many  marvels  recorded  in  it.  This  work,  at  the 
latest,  dates  from  the  third  century  B.C.,  for  it  is  evidently 
referred  to  by  the  great  historian  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  who  lived 
in  the  following  century.  But  it  was  a  work  which  had  evi¬ 
dently  been  in  existence  some  time  when  he  wrote,  and  we 
may  well  believe  that  it  is  much  older  than  the  third  century 
B.C.  Wylie  thinks  it  is  at  least  as  old  as  the  Chou  Dynasty 
and  perhaps  older.  The  Chou  Dynasty  began  in  1122  B.C. 
The  “Family  Sayings,"  an  apocryphal  work  which  pre¬ 
serves  many  stories  of  the  early  life  of  Confucius,  refers 
to  the  Shan  King  or  “Classic  of  Mountains"  as  having 
been  written  under  the  Shang  Dynasty  (1766-1122  B.C.), 
and  the  “Shan  King"  is  believed  to  be  the  original  of  the 
Shan  Hai  King.  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien  would  not  accept  its  state¬ 
ments,  because  it  mentioned  so  many  strange  things. 

Modern  critics  reject  it  for  the  same  reason,  and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  as  a  serious  attempt  at  descriptive  ge¬ 
ography  it  certainly  is  a  failure.  Nevertheless,  considering 
the  period  in  which  it  was  written,  it  is  not  remarkable 
that  it  contains  many  strange  tales  and  substitutes  fancy 
for  fact.  We  have  all  doubtless  seen  copies  of  ancient 
maps  of  the  world  representing  the  outlying  regions  as 
peopled  with  terrible  monsters.  In  the  Middle  Ages  men 
believed  that  the  southern  ocean  was  steaming  hot  and 
impassable,  and  that  the  southern  regions  of  the  earth  were 
inhabited  by  salamanders.  They  told  strange  tales,  too,  of 
the  Magnetic  Mountain  which  would  draw  the  nails  out 
of  ships  and  so  wreck  them.  Columbus  met  with  much 
opposition  from  his  sailors  who  had  heard  frightful  talcs 
of  these  outermost  limits  of  the  world  and  feared  that  they 


42 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


would  never  be  able  to  return  to  their  homes.15  Fiske  says : 
“In  maps  made  in  the  15th  and  16th  centuries,  in  such 
places  as  we  should  label  ‘  Unexplored  Regions,  ’  there  were 
commonly  depicted  uncouth  shapes  of  ‘Gorgons  and  Hydras 
and  Chimaeras  dire,’  furnishing  eloquent  testimony  to  the 
feeling  with  which  the  unknown  was  regarded.” 

Ancient  Chinese  geographers  were  quite  as  human  as 
those  of  two  thousand  years  later  in  Europe.  The  greater 
their  ignorance  of  a  region  the  more  bizarre  the  description 
that  was  given  of  it.  If,  then,  we  refuse  all  credit  to  works 
that  deal  with  gnomes  and  fairies,  with  demons  and  strange 
monsters,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  dispense  with  many 
works  that,  despite  their  failing,  can  afford  valuable  in¬ 
formation. 

The  Shan  Hai  King  is  fairly  accurate  in  its  accounts 
of  the  regions  nearest  to  the  capital  of  ancient  China.  Its 
description  of  plants  and  animals  is  superficial ;  the  author 
loves  to  note  the  medicinal  properties  of  plants  and  he 
exaggerates  the  mineral  resources  of  most  places  mentioned. 
But  nothing  bizarre  is  recorded  until  the  writer  attempts 
to  describe  regions  a  thousand  miles  or  more  from  the 
capital.  Of  these  distant  places  he  probably  knew  only 
from  travelers’  tales  or  ancient  fables  and  traditions. 
He  places  vast  iron  fields  very  accurately  in  Shansi  or 
northern  Honan,  but  apparently  is  mistaken  as  to  supplies 
of  copper  in  that  region. 

Routes  of  travel  are  discussed  under  four  general  heads. 
(1)  The  mountains  (of  which  there  were  five  that  guarded 
the  empire,  one  in  each  quarter — north,  east,  south  and 
west — and  one  in  the  center)  ;  (2)  the  regions  within  the 
four  seas  by  which  China  was  believed  to  be  bounded;  (3)  the 
region  without,  or  beyond,  the  seas,  and  (4)  the  Great  Desert. 

THE  WESTERN  MOUNTAINS 

Except  the  central  region,  that  guarded  by  the  central 
mountain  and  which,  of  course,  was  most  densely  peopled 
and  best  known,  the  region  to  which  most  space  is  given 

15  For  some  of  these  curious  conceptions  see  Fiske ’s  1 1  Discovery  of 
America/  ’  Vol.  I,  Ch.  4. 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


43 


is  the  West.  Four  routes  across  the  region  of  the  Western 
Mountains  are  described,  and  three  other  chapters  deal  with 
the  western  region  within  and  beyond  the  seas  and  with 
the  Great  Desert  of  the  north-west. 

Although  these  chapters  are  not  free  from  marvels  the 
accounts  which  they  give  of  the  western  borders  of  China 
and  the  region  adjoining  it  on  the  north-west  agree  very 
well  with  the  facts.  In  its  description  of  southern  Shensi 
the  work  mentions  certain  rivers  as  flowing  north  into  the 
Wei,  and  notes  the  water-shed  that  divides  them  from  those 
flowing  south  into  the  Han.  The  first  route  carries  one  to 
the  Koko  Nor.  The  second  route  follows  for  some  distance 
the  northern  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Wei.  The  third  leads 
to  the  head  waters  of  the  Yellow  River,  notes  the  Tien  Shan, 
and  farther  west  finds  the  desert  of  moving  sands,  that  is 
to  say,  the  Taklamakan.  It  rightly  describes  some  of  the 
streams  as  losing  themselves  in  the  sand  and  others  as 
flowing  into  a  reedy  marsh.  It  mentions  this  region  very 
correctly  as  the  chief  source  of  jade,  and  properly  places 
the  Kunlun  Mountains  to  the  south  and  south-west  of  it. 
The  fourth  route  takes  one  farther  north  among  white 
wolves  and  white  foxes,  the  pine  and  the  cypress,  and  ends 
in  a  fabled  mountain,  Yen-tzu,  where  the  sun  sets  in  a  cave. 

It  is  difficult  to  identify  some  of  the  plants  and  animals 
from  the  descriptions  given,  but  those  that  can  be  identified 
are,  generally  speaking,  placed  in  their  proper  localities. 
The  golden  pheasant  in  southern  Shensi,  the  yak,  musk 
deer,  monkey,  rhinoceros  and  elk  in  the  vicinity  of  Tibet. 
The  rhinoceros  does  not  exist  in  China  now,  but  it  was 
found  there  in  ancient  times.  The  wolves  and  white  foxes 
and  the  wild  sheep  are  placed  in  the  north  and  north-west. 

Three  seas  are  mentioned  in  this  western  region;  the 
Western  Sea,  identified  by  the  Chinese  with  Koko  Nor,  and 
the  North-western  and  South-western  Seas,  which  may  be 
variously  identified.  The  vast  desert  with  its  shifting  sands 
and  brackish  lakes  is  undoubtedly  that  of  Chinese  Turkes¬ 
tan. 

Beyond  the  South-western  Sea,  the  author  tells  us  there 
is  a  burning  mountain,  and  at  the  base  of  the  Kunlun 


44 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


Mountains  the  Weak  Water  has  its  source.  What  volcano 
is  intended  is  unknown,  as  none  now  exists  in  that  region. 
The  Weak  Water  by  some  is  thought  to  be ‘a  lake,  by  others 
a  river.  The  Chinese  commentator  says  of  it  that  the 
water  is  too  weak  to  support  a  goose  feather. 

FABLE  AND  SUPERSTITION 

Mingled  with  the  facts  are  many  fancies  derived,  per¬ 
haps,  from  a  too  fertile  imagination,  and  possibly  in  part 
from  misunderstood  traditions  or  from  ancient  fables.  A 
pheasant  is  seen  with  a  human  face.  Birds  are  described 
which  have  but  one  eye  and  one  wing  each,  so  that  they 
fly  in  pairs,  one  supporting  another.  Similar  birds,  called 
“love  birds, ”  are  said  by  fable  to  have  carried  the  love 
letters  that  passed  between  the  Emperor  Wu  of  the  Han 
Dynasty  and  the  Fairy  Queen.  In  one  region,  we  are  told, 
there  is  a  wild  beast  called  a  chiao,  which  looks  like  a  dog 
but  has  panther  markings  and  horns  like  an  ox  and  barks 
like  a  dog.  To  see  one  is  a  good  omen,  since  it  betokens 
great  prosperity.  We  read  of  a  flying  reptile  with  six 
feet  and  four  wings  whose  advent  is  a  fore-runner  of 
drought.  Another  strange  animal  has  the  head  of  a  man 
and  the  body  of  a  tiger. 

On  the  Kunlun  Mountains  the  Fairy  Queen  lives  in  a 
beautiful  garden.  Her  subjects  feast  on  phoenix  eggs  and 
drink  sweet  dew.  Their  every  wish,  once  uttered,  is  im¬ 
mediately  gratified. 

In  the  midst  of  the  desert  is  a  kingdom  of  women  who 
worship  their  female  ancestors,  and  somewhat  farther  on  a 
kingdom  of  husbands.  Just  north  of  the  kingdom  of  women 
is  a  land  whose  inhabitants  live  for  eight  hundred  years 
and  are  not  considered  old.  They  have  human  heads  but 
serpent  bodies.  That  is  a  heavenly  land,  where  the  female 
phoenix  sings  and  her  mate  dances  in  accompaniment. 
Even  the  wild  beasts  live  in  peaceful  flocks,  and  the  people 
drink  the  sweet  dew  and  eat  the  eggs  of  the  phoenix. 

In  that  distant  region  one  must  not  shoot  an  arrow 
toward  the  West,  for  there  is  the  mound,  or  grave,  of 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


45 


Huang  Ti,  the  “Yellow  Emperor.”  Not  far  away  is  an¬ 
other  land  of  very  tall  men,  and  beyond  them  the  kingdom 
of  white  men,  whose  hair  hangs  down  their  backs  and  who 
ride  the  fei  huang,  an  animal  that  looks  like  a  fox,  but  has 
horns  and  lives  for  2000  years. 

Here  we  seem  to  find  an  echo  of  stories  told  by  Herodotus 
of  the  swift-riding  Scyths,  who  are  descended  from  a  prin¬ 
cess  with  a  human  head  but  a  serpent  body.  He,  too,  as 
well  as  other  ancient  writers,  described  a  kingdom  of 
women  in  this  region  of  central  Asia. 

Pindar  tells  us  of  the  Hyperboreans,  who  live  to  a  fabu¬ 
lous  age  in  a  northern  land,  even  to  the  age  of  a  thousand 
years — a  happy  people  in  a  beautiful  country,  where  they 
feed  on  fragrant  herbs  and  drink  ambrosial  dew. 

But  it  is  in  the  description  of  the  spirits  that  inhabit 
the  mountains,  the  wilderness  and  the  desert  that  fancy 
runs  riot.  There  are  those  with  human  head  and 
dragon’s  body,  which  is  a  rather  common  description  of 
the  ancient  heroes  of  China.  Many  of  them  are  so  repre¬ 
sented  on  the  sculptures  of  Shantung.  Others  are  rep¬ 
resented  as  having  a  human  head  but  with  the  body  of  a 
horse,  tiger  stripes  and  with  wings  like  a  bird. 

Some  are  evil  spirits,  others  are  harmless.  Of  the  latter 
we  are  told  of  one  that  looks  like  an  ox  but  has  two  heads, 
eight  feet,  a  horse’s  tail  and  a  voice  that  sounds  like  the 
whirring  of  beetles’  wings.  In  the  desert  of  moving  sands 
the  spirits  have  the  appearance  of  men  but  with  panther 
tails.  In  one  of  the  western  mountains  is  a  wicked  demon 
named  Lilun,  which  will  at  once  remind  us  of  the  Hebrew 
tradition  of  Lilith,  who  also  dwelt  in  the  wilderness.16 

Because  of  the  marvels  which  it  records  and  the  bizarre 
creatures  which  it  describes  many  writers,  Chinese  and 
European,  have  refused  to  give  any  consideration  to  the 
statements  of  the  Shan  Hai  King.  But  we  really  ought 
not  to  be  surprised  that  such  tales  are  preserved  in  it. 
Herodotus  tells  us  of  men  with  goats’  feet,  as  well  as  of 
ants  as  large  as  foxes  which  guard  the  gold  in  the  eastern 
deserts.  He  quotes  Skylax  as  authority  for  the  story  of 

10  See  the  Hebrew  text  of  Iaaiah  xxxiv :  14. 


46 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


men  with  ears  so  large  that  they  rolled  up  in  them  when 
they  went  to  sleep. 

This  habit  of  filling  the  unknown  wilds  with  strange 
and  savage  creatures  of  terrible  mien  seems  to  be  one  that 
was  common  to  primitive  men.  Numerous  examples  will 
occur  to  readers  of  classical  literature  and  to  students  of 
anthropology.  The  centaur,  half  man  half  horse,  Scylla 
with  her  twelve  feet  and  six  necks  and  mouths,  the  griffons 
that  guard  the  gold  in  India,  huge  birds  large  as  wolves, 
with  feathers  black  and  red  but  with  claws  like  those  of 
a  lion,  are  instances  of  such  fables,  found  in  our  classics. 

As  for  the  demons  and  hobgoblins  that  fill  the  desert  and 
waste  places,  classical  and  Biblical  literature,  as  well  as  the 
folk-lore  of  all  lands,  record  this  as  the  common  belief  of 
men.  Yet  we  do  not  on  that  account  refuse  to  profit  by 
the  writings  of  the  ancients. 

Fa  Hsien,  a  Buddhist  monk,  crossed  the  Taklamakan 
Desert  in  A.D.  399,  and  speaks  of  it  as  inhabited  by  evil 
demons,17  yet  we  give  much  credit  to  Fa  Hsien ’s  account 
of  his  visit  to  India.  Hsiiang  Chuang,  another  Buddhist 
monk,  crossed  the  same  desert  of  shifting  sands  twice  in 
the  seventh  century,  and  tells  how  he  ‘  ‘  encountered  all 
sorts  of  demon  shapes  and  strange  goblins.”18  Marco  Polo, 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  also  crossed  this  desert,  and  re¬ 
peats  the  story  of  wicked  spirits  that  seek  to  lead  the 
traveler  astray.19 

That  such  tales  fill  the  Shan  Hai  King  then  is  but  evi¬ 
dence,  not  of  its  Taoistic  origin  in  the  fourth  century  A.D., 
as  one  writer  holds,  but  rather  of  its  very  primitive  char¬ 
acter  and  very  ancient  origin.  Indeed  if  the  work  had  been 
produced  in  the  fourth  century  A.D.  it  would  be  difficult 
to  explain  its  want  of  more  complete  information  concern¬ 
ing  the  countries  of  the  south  and  west,  for  China  had  600 
years  earlier  entered  into  treaty  relations  with  36  states 
of  central  Asia,  and  for  300  years  had  been  acquainted 
with  the  eastern  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  For  a  hun- 

17  Fa  Hsien;  Chap.  I.  See  Legge’s  Translation,  p.  12. 

is  BeaHs  Translation,  pp.  21,  22. 

is  Marco  Polo,  Cordier’s  edition,  Scribner,  1905,  Vol.  II,  p.  197. 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


47 


dred  years  sea-borne  commerce  had  been  carried  on  through 
Canton.  It  would  have  been  strange  then  to  have  a  book 
appear  which  showed  so  little  knowledge  of  all  the  foreign 
intercourse  that  had  been  going  on.  These  added  to  the 
reasons  already  given  emphasize  the  early  origin  of  the 
book. 

VALUE  OF  THE  SHAN  HAI  KING 

The  value  of  the  work  for  us  lies  in  the  fact  that  it 
places  beyond  the  North-western  sea  many  of  the  earliest 
events  of  which  Chinese  tradition  takes  notice.  Other 
events  are  recorded  as  having  place  beyond  the  Western 
Sea  and  on  the  borders  of  the  Desert  of  Moving  Sands. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Great  Desert  is  the  Sun-and-Moon 
Mountain,  the  axis  of  the  sky.  The  gate  of  the  heavens 
is  there,  into  which  the  sun  and  moon  retire. 

“In  a  corner  of  the  desert  beyond  the  North-western 
Sea,  ’ 9  we  are  told,  1 1  is  the  Broken  Mountain. 9  ’  This  is  the 
north-western  pillar  of  the  sky  which,  a  mythical  tale  tells 
us,  was  broken  by  Kungkung  in  his  rebellion  against  the 
Emperor.  His  aim  was  said  to  be  to  let  down  that  corner 
of  the  sky  so  that  the  waters  above  the  firmament  would 
flood  the  earth. 

In  the  same  region  lived  Nukua,  said  by  tradition  to 
have  been  a  sister  of  Fuhsi,  the  inventor  of  numbers  and 
the  founder  of  the  Chinese  state,  who  established  his  throne 
in  2852  B.C.  But  Nukua  was  really  a  successor  of  Fuhsi, 
and  is  credited  with  repairing  the  damage  done  by  Kung¬ 
kung  and  his  flood.  There,  too,  lived  Shennung  in  2737 
B.C.,  worshiped  to-day  as  the  patron  saint  of  agriculture 
and  the  first  teacher  of  medicine.  There  was  the  kingdom 
of  Hsiianyuan,  better  known  as  Huang  Ti,  i.e.,  the  “Yellow 
Emperor,”  who  ascended  the  throne  in  2697  B.C.,  and 
there  was  the  home  of  Houchi,  who  first  taught  the  people 
to  cultivate  the  grains. 

There  on  the  Kunlun  Mountains  was  the  home  of 
Wangmu,  generally  called  the  Ilsi  Wang  Mu,  that  is  to 
say  the  Western  Wang  Mu,  which  is  translated  Western 


48 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


Royal  Mother,  otherwise  the  Fairy  Queen.  Wangmu  was 
more  probably  the  name  of  a  local  chieftain  or  of  a  small 
state  in  the  region  of  the  Kunlun  Mountains,  but  in  trans¬ 
literating  the  name  the  Chinese  used  the  two  characters, 
wang  for  “ royal”  and  mu  for  “mother.”  Later  the  ad¬ 
jective  hsi,  meaning  “west”  was  added,  and  out  of  this 
grew  all  the  legends  respecting  the  Fairy  Queen,  the  Jade 
Palace,  the  lake  of  gems  and  the  peach  of  immortality. 

Even  the  strange  and  incredible  tales  which  the  Shan 
Hai  King  tells  us  of  this  north-western  region  bear  wit¬ 
ness  to  the  importance  which  that  distant  country  had  in 
the  estimation  of  the  Chinese.  Fancy  grew  busy  with  the 
race  memories  and  shed  upon  the  original  tradition  the 
transfiguring  light  of  romance. 

All  this  suggests  that  it  is  there  that  we  should  look  for 
the  childhood  home  of  this  ancient  people. 


MIGRATION  OF  HUANG  TI 

Other  ancient  records  that  are  also  tinged  with  romance 
but  probably  have  a  basis  of  fact  tell  us  that  King  Mu, 
who  reigned  in  China  in  the  tenth  century  B.C.,  paid  a 
visit  to  the  western  ruler  Wangmu,  and  that,  standing  on 
an  elevation  in  the  Kunlun  Mountains,  he  looked  down 
upon  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  palace  of  Huang  Ti.  This 
story  may  be  based  upon  a  passage  in  the  Shan  Hai  King 
which  tells  us  that  Huang  Ti  had  a  secondary  capital  in 
that  region,  identified  by  some  as  in  the  north-western  part 
of  modern  Kansu.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  a  migra¬ 
tion  of  Huang  Ti  from  his  ancient  home  “beyond  the 
North-western  Sea.” 

Several  places  in  the  province  of  Kansu  are  associated 
with  his  name,  and  Ssu-ma  Ch  ’ien,  the  Herodotus  of  China, 
locates  his  capital  at  Hsiianhuafu,  about  125  miles  north¬ 
west  of  Peking. 

These  facts  have  given  rise  to  a  belief  that  Huang  Ti 
came  into  China  from  the  north-west,  and  that  he  led  a 
band  of  immigrants  which  moved  gradually  from  place  to 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


49 


place  until  they  had  covered  the  thousands  of  miles  that 
lay  between  their  ancient  home  and  Hsiianhuafu. 


OTHER  MIGRATIONS 

There  were  many  successive  waves  of  immigration  from 
central  Asia  southeastwards  into  China,  some  before  the 
time  of  Huang  Ti  and  some  after  that  date.  Three  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  the  traditional  date  of  his  accession  we 
find  the  capital  of  China  near  the  north  bank  of  the  Yellow 
River  400  miles  south  of  Hsiianhuafu.  The  emperor  then 
reigning  surrendered  his  throne  to  a  man  named  Shun,  who 
belonged  to  a  tribe  called  the  I  that  had  settled,  according 
to  the  statements  of  Mencius,  in  what  we  know  to-day  as 
Shantung.  This  tribe  may  possibly  have  come  to  China 
before  the  days  of  Huang  Ti,  but  the  people  appear  to 
have  been  related  to  the  Chinese. 

During  the  reign  of  Shun,  who  took  the  throne  in 
2255  B.C.,  there  arose  a  feudal  lord  nam§d  Shang,  who  had 
settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Wei  in  modern  Shensi,  about 
400  miles  west  of  Shun’s  capital.  The  Shangs  also  were 
apparently  Chinese,  but  had  come  into  Shensi  much  later 
than  Huang  Ti.  Subsequently  they,  too,  moved  farther 
eastward  and  established  a  state  in  what  we  know  to-day  as 
Honan  Province.  From  the  last  mentioned  locality  they 
attacked  and  overthrew  the  reigning  house  of  China  in 
1766  B.C. 

The  Shangs  in  turn  were  followed  in  the  valley  of  the 
Wei  by  another  tribe  known  as  the  Chou.  This  tribe,  too, 
had  come  from  the  north-west.  They  claimed  connection 
with  the  same  ancestors  as  Huang  Ti,  and  were  no  doubt 
related  to  that  branch  of  the  Chinese  family.  Their  tradi¬ 
tions  alleged  descent  from  Houchi,  the  man  who,  according 
to  Chinese  legend,  first  taught  the  cultivation  of  the  grains. 
Among  his  descendants  was  a  chieftain  who  led  his  people 
to  the  region  we  call  eastern  Kansu,  to  the  place  known 
to-day  as  Ch’ingyang.  From  this  place  the  tribe  after¬ 
wards  removed  to  the  western  part  of  modern  Shensi,  the 
Pinchou  of  to-day.  There  this  tribe  of  Chous  flourished 


50 


The  Beginnings  of  China 

for  a  time,  but  was  attacked  repeatedly  by  the  Hsiungnu, 
ancestors  of  the  Huns  who  over-ran  Europe  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  Because  of  these  attacks  the  Chous  moved  to  the 
south  side  of  the  river  Wei  to  the  modern  prefecture  of 
Fenghsiang.  But  they  were  again  subject  to  attack  by 
the  Hsiungnu  and  migrated  again  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
present  city  of  Hsianfu.  While  located  at  this  place  they 
became  a  powerful  state,  and  one  of  their  chieftains  organ¬ 
ized  a  league  of  eight  western  tribes,  which,  in  1122  B.C., 
moved  eastward  and  overturned  the  Shang  Dynasty. 

We  have  here  then  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which 
these  movements  of  population  were  taking  place.  In  a 
thousand  years  or  more  the  descendants  of  Ilouchi  had 
gradually  moved  south-eastward  a  distance  of  1500  or  2000 
miles.  They  pressed  down  upon  the  Chinese  who  had  pre¬ 
ceded  them  and  eventually  conquered  and  replaced  them. 
They  became  the  rulers  of  China  for  nearly  900  years  of  the 
most  important  formative  period  of  their  history,  the  period 
which  gave  to  the  world  Lao  Tzu,  Confucius,  Mencius,  and 
Chuang  Tzu,  as  well  as  many  less  noted  philosophers  and 
statesmen.  This  was  the  period,  too,  in  which  Chinese  social 
and  political  institutions  became  fixed  and  definite. 

The  Chous,  however,  were  also  subjected  to  continual 
pressure  from  the  northwest.  They  resisted  more  success¬ 
fully  than  their  predecessors  had  done,  but  in  249  B.C. 
they,  and  all  Chinese  had  to  yield  to  the  domination  of  a 
new  power,  which  had  gradually  grown  up  on  the  north¬ 
western  frontier,  in  the  very  region  where  the  Chous,  and 
still  earlier  the  Shangs,  had  once  established  themselves. 
The  new  dynasty  was  known  as  Ch’in,  from  which  the 
European  world  obtained  the  name  “  China.  ”  It  was  a 
short-lived  dynasty,  but  its  greatest  emperor,  Shih  Huang 
Ti,  subdued  the  Hsiungnu,  built  the  Great  Wall,  and 
brought  all  south  China  and  Annam  nominally  under  his 
sway.  These  conquests  were  not  permanent,  however,  for 
the  Hsiungnu  continued  to  be  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the 
Chinese  for  many  centuries,  sometimes  as  unwilling  and 
turbulent  vassals,  sometimes  as  open  and  avowed  enemies. 
In  the  south  the  Cantonese  and  Annamese  for  a  time  re- 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


51 


gained  their  independence,  but  later  under  the  Han  Dy¬ 
nasty,  in  110  B.C.,  became  again  a  part  of  the  Chinese 
empire. 

GROWTH  OF  THE  CHINESE  STATE 

At  this  time  the  Chinese  state  included  all  of  China 
Proper  north  of  the  Yangtze  River  and  the  coast  between 
the  mouth  of  the  Yangtze  and  Canton.  This  advance  had 
been  a  slow  but  steady  process,  and  had  been  accompanied 
by  the  absorption  of  many  other  tribes  that  were  already  in 
the  land  when  the  Chinese  arrived. 

The  earliest  inhabitants  of  China  were  probably  a  race 
of  small,  dark-skinned,  curly-headed  savages,  related  to  the 
Negritos  or,  perhaps,  identical  with  them.  They  were  fol¬ 
lowed  by  the  Miao,  mentioned  repeatedly  in  the  classical 
history  of  China  as  a  people  with  whom  the  Chinese  colonists 
had  to  contend.  The  Miao  call  themselves  Meng.  They 
perhaps  are  of  Hindu  origin  and  connected  with  the  people 
known  in  Indo  China  as  Mon  Khmer. 

The  Miao,  as  they  spread  over  the  country,  drove  the 
Negritos  before  them.  The  Negritos  passed  into  the  Indo- 
Chinese  Peninsula,  where  they  are  known  as  the  Selon. 
Some  of  them  perhaps  reached  the  Philippines.  The  Miao 
in  turn  were  driven  southward  by  the  Shans  and  other 
related  peoples,  such  as  the  Karens  and  Tibeto-Burmans, 
and  to-day  are  found  in  the  mountains  of  south-western 
China  and  most  probably  also  in  Indo-China,  where  they 
are  called  the  Mon  Khmer. 

Many  other  tribes  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  China 

were  pushed  south-eastwards  to  the  coast.  It  is  well  known 

that  along  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtze  River  to 

Canton  there  are  a  great  many  different  dialects  spoken, 

some  so  unlike  that  the  people  can  not  understand  one 

another.  Yet  all  these  dialects,  and  the  languages  of  Indo 

China  also,  excepting  those  of  the  Negritos  and  Mon  Khmer, 

«*  • 

are  tonal  languages  and  are  related  one  to  another. 

The  pressure  which  forced  these  tribes  to  the  south¬ 
eastern  coast  and  drove  the  Miao  to  the  mountains  came 


52 


The  Beginnings  of  China 


from  the  north-west.  The  successive  waves  of  Chinese  im¬ 
migrants  drove  the  earlier  colonists  to  the  south.  These 
earlier  colonists,  such  as  the  Shans,  pushed  the  Miao  and 
other  tribes  still  further  south,  and  the  Miao  drove  the 
aboriginal  Negritos  out  of  the  country. 

The  Shans  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Siamese  and  per¬ 
haps  of  the  Cantonese  also.  Many  were  eventually  pushed 
down  into  the  Peninsula,  where  they  subdued,  and  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  extent,  displaced,  the  Selung  or  Negritos  and  the  Mon 
Khmer.  Others  of  the  Shans  remained  in  China,  some  of 
whom  for  a  long  time  refused  to  be  absorbed.  They  estab¬ 
lished  a  kingdom  in  south-western  China  about  A.D.  345 
which  was  not  overthrown  until  the  13th  Century  of  the 
Christian  Era,  when  it  was  subdued  by  the  Mongols.  The 
Karens  also  remained  in  China  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
8th  Century  A.D.  when  they  passed  into  Burmah. 

As  a  part  of  the  same  movement  of  peoples  from  north  to 
south  we  have  the  Tibeto-Burmans  migrating  from  eastern 
Tibet  into  Burmah.  They  came,  so  we  are  told,  from  the 
Tien  Shan,  that  range  of  mountains  which  divides  Chinese 
Turkestan  into  northern  and  southern  sections.  About  the 
year  600  B.C.,  Sir  George  Scott  tells  us,20  they  were  located 
in  the  valley  of  the  Irawaddy,  from  which  place  they  had 
driven  out  the  Mon  Khmer.  Subsequently  they  themselves 
were  forced  to  follow  the  Mon  Khmer  into  Burmah. 

A  similar  story  is  told  of  Cambodia,  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Indo-Chinese  Peninsula.  Colquhoun  mentions  six 
tribes  that  are  found  there,  which  before  215  B.C.  were 
located  in  the  Chinese  provinces  of  Kuangtung  and 
Kuangsi,  and  were  forced  out  of  China  in  two  migrations.21 

Mr.  A.  W.  Graham  in  his  “Handbook  of  Siam”  says:  - 

It  is  now  the  very  generally  accepted  theory  that,  during  the 
last  few  thousand  years,  Siam,  and  in  fact  the  whole  of  Further 
India,  has  been  subjected  to  periodical  flooding,  by  successive 
waves  of  humanity,  set  moving  by  natural  or  social  upheavals 
of  population  far  to  the  north  in  Central  Asia.  We  may  imagine 
that  the  Negrito  population  of  Siam  or  rather  of  that  part  of 

20  Handbook  of  Burmah. 

21  “Amongst  the  Shans, ”  by  Archibald  Colquhoun,  p.  46. 


53 


The  Beginnings  of  China 

what  now  constitutes  Siam  which  was  then  above  the  sea,  leading 
their  primitive  existence  through  countless  generations,  their  con¬ 
dition  scarcely  advanced  beyond  that  of  their  celt-wielding  fore¬ 
runners,  until  there  came  down  upon  them  one  of  these  great 
waves  of  population  which  broke  them  up,  thrust  them  aside 
into  the  remoter  hills,  all  but  exterminated  them,  and  finally  set¬ 
tled  itself  down  in  their  place. 

This  irresistible  tide  of  humanity  was  the  advance  down  all 
the  rivers  of  Further  India  of  the  tribe  which  constituted  what 
is  conveniently  called  the  Mon-Annam  Family,  the  savage  ances¬ 
tors  of  the  Mon,  or  Talaing,  the  Khmer,  or  Cambodian,  and  the 
Annamese,  civilized  races  of  yesterday  and  to-day,  and  of  a  host 
of  lesser  tribes  which  still  persist  in  quasi-barbarism. 

Mr.  H.  R.  Davies  in  a  volume  called  “Yunnan,  the  Link 
between  India  and  the  Yangtze/  ’  says : 

Whatever  the  pure  Chinese  may  have  been  five  thousand  years 
ago,  it  seems  historically  certain  that  the  Chinese  of  the  present 
day  have  grown  up  out  of  the  gradual  welding  into  one  empire 
of  Tartar  tribes  from  the  north  and  of  Mon-Khmer,  Shan  and 
possibly  to  some  extent  of  Tibeto-Burman  races  who  were  origin¬ 
ally  in  occupation  of  much  of  the  country  that  has  grown  into 
China. 

It  seems  plain  from  these  facts  that  the  movements  of 
population  in  Eastern  Asia  have  been  from  north-west  to 
south-east  and  from  north  to  south,  and  not  vice  versa  as 
some  would  have  us  believe.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  real  cause  of  these  movements  was  the  great 
physical  change  that  had  taken  place  in  central  Asia,  and 
which  has  caused  a  number  of  migrations  both  east  and 
west,  some  of  them  in  historic  times,  as  already  stated. 

The  Chinese  as  we  know  them  to-day,  then,  are  a  mixture 
of  a  number  of  tribes,  for  the  most  part  related,  whose 
earliest  seats  were  in  that  region  of  central  Asia  where  man 
first  became  a  civilized  being.22 

22  The  views  presented  in  this  chapter  were  first  set  forth  by  the 
writer  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Wash¬ 
ington,  D.  C.,  in  April,  1918,  and  published  in  the  Journal  of 
Physical  Anthropology  for  April-June,  1918,  pp.  183-211.  The 
whole  subject  has  been  gone  over  anew,  however,  in  preparation  for 
this  volume. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  FAMILY 

Be  filial  and  fraternal  and  so  give  weight  to  human  relationships. 

K’anghsi;  “  The  Sacred  Edict.* * 

Union  with  wife  and  child  is  sweet, 

Sweet  as  when  lutes  in  concert  blend; 

*Tis  when  united  brothers  meet 
That  mirth  and  concord  have  no  end. 

The  Shih  King ;  translated  by  Jennings. 

The  social  unit  in  China  is  not  the  individual  but  the 
family.  Family  solidarity  is  nowhere  better  illustrated. 
There  are  other  countries  where  family  ties  are  strong  and 
where  great  regard  is  paid  to  kinship,  but  none  where  these 
characteristics  are  more  marked  or  have  such  far-reaching 
effects.1 

This  statement  is  true,  generally  speaking,  of  all  parts  of 
China,  but  it  is  particularly  in  the  southern  provinces  that 
the  kindred  are  most  thoroughly  organized  and  the  domina¬ 
tion  of  the  family — not  to  say  its  tyranny — over  the  indi¬ 
vidual  is  most  pronounced. 

In  the  south  of  China,  due  perhaps  to  the  infrequency  of 
invasion  by  alien  tribes,  the  family  seems  to  be  more  per¬ 
manently  attached  to  a  single  locality  and  the  ties  of  kinship 
stronger  and  more  extended  than  in  the  north  where  inva¬ 
sion,  strife  and  capture  have  so  often  uprooted  the  family 
and  dispersed  its  members. 

At  any  rate  the  clans  are  larger  and  far  more  powerful 
in  the  south  than  in  the  north  and  much  more  disposed  to 
tyrannize  over  their  members  and  to  unite  in  defense  of 
the  kindred. 

This  solidarity  of  the  Chinese  family  manifests  itself  in 
all  the  relations  of  life.  It  is  shown  in  the  organization  of 

1  An  excellent  discussion  of  the  Family  of  the  Chinese,  by  P. 
G.  von  Mollendorff,  will  be  found  in  the  Journal  of  the  China  Branch 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  N.  S.  vol.  xxvii,  No.  2,  1892-93. 

54 


The  Family 


55 


the  kindred.  The  father  is  the  head  of  his  own  family  and, 
under  the  old  regime,  possessed  the  power  of  life  and  death 
over  his  children.  This  power  was  identical  with  the  patria 
potest  as  of  the  ancient  Romans.  There  was  no  limit  in  the 
age  of  the  son  over  whom  this  power  might  be  exercised. 
Even  though  the  children  might  themselves  be  parents  and 
advanced  in  years,  the  father,  so  long  as  he  lived,  possessed 
this  power  of  putting  his  unfilial  children  to  death.  But, 
although  the  father  would  not  be  punished  for  killing  an 
unfilial  child,  the  law  presumed  that  in  case  of  unfilial  con¬ 
duct  the  father  would  bring  accusation  against  his  child 
before  a  court,  rather  than  take  the  law  into  his  own  hands. 
This  was  the  practice  in  that  ancient  period,  the  6th  cen¬ 
tury  B.C.  when  Confucius  himself  served  as  Chief  Justice 
in  his  native  state.  It  is  said  that  a  father  brought  before 
him  a  disobedient  son  for  punishment  involving  the  death 
penalty.  Confucius  imprisoned  both  father  and  son,  and 
when  remonstrated  with  by  his  Prince  replied:  “When 
those  of  an  older  generation  fail  in  their  duty  towards  their 
juniors,  it  is  not  right  for  them  to  ask  that  these  juniors 
be  put  to  death.  This  father  has  not  taught  his  son  to  be 
filial.”  He  refused  to  execute  the  law,  and  subsequently 
released  both  father  and  son. 

The  old  penal  code  of  the  Manchus  provided  that  if  a 
man,  upon  a  false  accusation  by  a  third  person,  put  a  son 
or  grandson  to  death  when  such  son  or  grandson  was 
innocent  of  wrong  doing,  the  person  guilty  of  the  false  ac¬ 
cusation  should  be  punished  with  seventy  blows  of  the 
heavy  bamboo  and  sent  into  exile  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and 
the  parent  guilty  of  the  killing  should  be  sentenced  to  sixty 
blows  of  the  heavy  bamboo  and  a  year’s  exile  within  his 
native  province.  This  was  light  punishment  for  murder. 
Apparently  it  was  only  because  the  accused  son  or  grandson 
were  innocent  of  the  offense  charged  that  any  punishment 
at  all  was  inflicted. 

Since  the  Republic  was  established  a  new  criminal  code 
has  been  adopted.  The  new  code  does  not  specifically  affirm 
the  possession  by  parents  of  the  power  of  life  and  deatli 
over  children,  but  it  does  so  by  implication;  since  it  pro- 


56 


The  Family 


vides  that  one  may,  without  committing  an  offence,  use  force 
in  resisting  an  attack  upon  himself,  except  it  be  an  attack 
by  a  lineal  ascendant.  In  such  cases  he  may  forcibly  resist 
only  if  the  attack  upon  himself  be  one  of  excessive  violence 
by  a  step-mother,  or  one  of  excessive  violence  upon  a  woman 
by  her  husband’s  ascendants,  or  an  attack  by  an  ascendant 
when  such  an  ascendant  is  “  in  a  state  that  shows  apparent 
violation  of  the  legal  relationship.”  2 

The  authority  of  ascendants  is  recognized  also  in  the 
provisions  for  increase  of  the  prescribed  penalties  if  the 
offense  be  one  against  a  lineal  ascendant.3 

The  solidarity  of  the  family  is  recognized  in  the  exemp¬ 
tion  from  punishment  of  one  who  appropriates  to  his  own 
use,  or  injures,  property  belonging  either  to  an  ascendant 
or  a  descendant,  and  in  the  leniency  shown  by  the  new  code 
towards  offenses  committed  against  the  property  of  other 
relatives.4 

Dr.  Wang  Chung-hui,  recently  Chief  Justice  of  China, 
in  a  pamphlet  published  not  long  since  entitled  “Law 
Reform  in  China,”  points  out  that  the  new  code  is  based 
upon  the  Continental  legal  system  rather  than  upon  Anglo- 
American  principles;  because,  as  he  says,  “The  Anglo- 
American  law  emphasizes  the  individual  as  against  the  fam¬ 
ily,  while  the  Continental  system  inherits  something  of  the 
Roman  familia.  The  unit  of  Chinese  society  being  the 
family,  reform  naturally  seeks  to  preserve  this  institution 
and  to  modernize  it  as  far  as  possible  after  the  Continental 
idea.”  5 

Under  the  Empire  the  power  of  the  father  could  not  be 
exercised  upon  a  son  in  the  service  of  the  Government  with¬ 
out  the  permission  of  the  Emperor.  A  daughter,  once  mar¬ 
ried,  no  longer  belongs  to  her  father’s  house,  but  to  that  of 
her  husband.  A  divorced  woman,  however,  returns  to  her 
father.  Having  the  power  of  life  and  death,  the  father 

2  See  New  Penal  Code  of  China,  Chap.  II,  Art.  XV,  and  Amend¬ 
ment  to  the  Code,  Art  I. 

3  See  Chapters  XX,  XXVI  and  XXVIII. 

4  See  Chapter  XXXII,  Articles  367,  377  ahd  387. 

5  Op.  cit.,  p.  15. 


The  Family 


57 


could  under  the  old  Manchu  code  sell  his  children  into 
slavery,  if  he  so  desired,  but  this  law  was  modified  by  the 
Manchus  themselves  in  1910,  to  the  effect  that  in  times  of 
distress  parents  might  be  allowed  to  sell  their  children  into 
bondage  for  a  term  of  years  only,  and  with  the  right  of 
redemption  under  certain  circumstances. 

But  while  no  father  could  legally  be  punished  for  killing 
an  unfilial  son,  such  deeds,  of  course,  were  rare.  The  affec¬ 
tion  of  a  father  for  his  children  is  sufficient  in  most  cases  to 
prevent  his  injuring  them.  In  addition  to  this  there  is  the 
dread  of  public  opinion.  The  neighbors  would  frown  upon 
a  man  that  could  be  so  cruel  as  to  kill  his  own  child. 


INFANTICIDE 

It  is  not  strictly  true,  as  just  said,  that  parental  affection 
would  prevent  the  killing  of  a  child.  At  least  it  does  not 
apply  among  all  classes  with  regard  to  infant  children.  In 
some  parts  of  China  infanticide  has  been  quite  common  in 
past  years  among  the  very  poor.  In  such  cases  it  was  the 
girl  babies  that  were  destroyed.  The  pressure  of  population 
upon  subsistence  was  so  great  in  some  regions  that  one  more 
mouth  to  feed  meant  suffering  for  the  whole  family.  An¬ 
other  reason  for  the  practice  was  that  in  the  districts  where 
it  occurred  the  female  population  outnumbered  the  male 
because  of  emigration.  There  was,  therefore,  slight  chance 
for  the  making  of  a  marriage  that  might  recompense  the 
parents  for  the  outlay  made  in  the  upbringing  of  the  child. 
The  girl  is  not  usually  looked  upon  as  an  economic  asset  by 
the  family,  but  rather  as  a  liability.  She  is  to  be  married 
into  another  family,  so  that  all  that  is  spent  for  her  is 
spent  for  the  benefit  of  another  family.  Her  bridal  equip¬ 
ment,  too,  is  a  heavy  burden,  but  this  is  covered  in  a  large 
measure  by  the  money  payment  made  by  the  family  of  her 
prospective  husband. 

Infanticide,  however,  is  not  so  common  now  as  it  was 
some  years  ago.  Public  opinion  frowns  upon  it. 

It  was  not  often  that  a  boy  was  exposed  by  his  parents, 


58 


The  Family 


for  he  would  grow  up  to  labor  for  the  family  and  increase 
its  wealth,  and  he  would  carry  on  the  line  and  keep  up  the 
sacrifices  to  the  ancestors.  Once,  however,  I  had  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  rescuing  a  baby  boy  whom  I  found  in  a  coffin  at  the 
gate  of  a  cemetery  in  Nanking.  The  coffin  lid  had  been  put 
on,  but,  as  I  passed  I  thought  I  heard  a  sound  from  the 
inside.  I  opened  the  coffin  and  found  the  wasted  form  of  a 
little  child  who  had  long  been  ill.  I  carried  him  to  a  hos¬ 
pital,  where  he  was  cared  for,  but  he  died  some  three  days 
later. 

Under  the  old  code  of  the  Manchus  it  was  forbidden  to 
expose  a  child  over  three  years  of  age,  but  this  very  prohibi¬ 
tion  shocks  one,  for  it  implied  that  children  under  three 
years  of  age  might  legally  be  exposed.  Some  mitigation  of 
this  practice  was  brought  about  by  Buddhist  teaching, 
which  forbids  the  taking  of  any  life,  and  by  Buddhist 
charity  which  provided  foundling  asylums  for  children 
whom  their  parents  could  not  support.  In  some  districts 
where  the  Christian  missionaries  have  labored  they  have 
done  much,  both  by  teaching  and  by  charity,  to  prevent 
such  a  sacrifice  of  child  life. 

Although  the  father  had  the  power  of  life  and  death 
over  his  children,  if  he  were  himself  a  younger  son,  he  was 
subject  to  the  commands  of  his  elder  brother,  who  assumed 
the  headship  of  the  family  upon  the  death  of  the  parents. 


INHERITANCE 

Sometimes  the  family  property  remains  undivided  for 
several  generations.  One  finds  grandparents,  parents,  sons 
and  grandsons  and  their  several  families  all  living  in  one 
home.  The  home,  in  such  a  case,  is  a  group  of  buildings 
gathered  around  several  courts.  Among  the  well-to-do  each 
husband  and  wife  will  have  a  house  and  court  for  them¬ 
selves  and  their  children,  but  enclosed  within  the  same  com¬ 
pound  as  the  other  brothers,  and  cousins.  You  can  some¬ 
times  find  a  whole  village  consisting  almost  entirely  of  but 
one  clan.  The  names  of  such  villages  often  indicate  this, 


The  Family 


59 


as  the  “Wang  Chia  Ts’un/7  or  village  of  the  Wang  family; 
the  ‘  ‘  Cheng  Chia  Tun,  7 7  or  the  hamlet  of  the  Cheng  family ; 
the  “Yang  Chia  Tien/7  or  the  farmstead  of  the  Yang 
family.  When  the  property  is  divided,  the  sons,  whether  by 
the  principal  wife  or  by  a  concubine,  all  inherit  the  fathers7 
estate,  share  and  share  alike.  In  the  case  of  the  death  of  a 
son  leaving  children,  these  children  divide  equally  among 
them  the  share  that  would  have  fallen  to  their  father.  Thus 
it  happens  that  many  farms  in  China  have  become  divided 
into  minute  portions,  sometimes  so  small  that  a  single  por¬ 
tion  is  no  longer  sufficient  for  the  support  of  a  family. 
Although  the  property  is  divided  among  the  sons,  the  widow 
holds  a  certain  right  of  administration  and  has  a  claim  to 
a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  her  funeral  expenses.  A  concubine, 
however,  has  no  claim  upon  the  estate. 

In  practice,  it  seems  that  so  long  as  the  mother  lives  her 
children  do  not  deprive  her  of  the  right  to  live  in  the  old 
home,  and  even  the  concubines  are  cared  for  out  of  respect 
to  the  father.  Filial  piety  will  not  allow  less  than  this  to 
be  done. 

Even  a  son  by  adoption  enjoys  the  same  rights  as  a  son 
by  blood.  So  long  as  a  male  heir  exists,  no  female  heir  has 
any  claim  upon  the  estate.  It  is  to  be  noted,  too,  that  even 
the  property  brought  by  a  wife  at  the  time  of  her  marriage 
remains  in  the  possession  of  the  husband,  although  the 
marriage  may  have  been  dissolved. 

So  strict  is  the  law  with  regard  to  the  equal  division  of 
the  property  among  all  the  sons  that  a  case  is  on  record  in 
which  the  will  of  the  father  leaving  to  the  eldest  son  a  larger 
share  than  given  to  the  others  was  set  aside  by  the  court, 
and  the  property  equally  divided,  although  the  contesting 
claimant  was  the  son  of  a  concubine.  Customary  law  is  not 
the  same  in  all  districts,  however,  for  in  some  the  eldest  son 
obtains  a  double  portion,  because  responsible  for  the  upkeep 
of  the  worship  in  the  ancestral  temple. 

The  guardianship  of  infants  is  the  duty  of  the  next  of 
kin,  but  a  wife  will  continue  the  guardianship  exercised  by 
her  husband,  if  the  latter  should  die.  If,  however,  the  wife 
desires  to  be  relieved  of  this  a  guardian  will  be  appointed 


60  The  Family 

by  the  blood  relatives,  and  relatives  by  marriage  have  no 
voice  in  the  matter. 


THE  CLAN 

The  wealthy  clans  maintain  large  ancestral  temples,  in 
which  the  tablets  of  the  deceased  ancestors  are  preserved, 
and  where  sacrifices  are  offered  to  their  spirits  at  stated 
intervals,  particularly  at  the  winter  solstice. 

Clan  meetings  are  held  in  these  temples,  in  which  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  may  be  presumed  to  participate,  al¬ 
though  unseen.  The  whole  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
may  be  considered  as  reunited.  At  such  meetings  important 
matters  pertaining  to  the  clan  are  discussed  and  settled  in 
family  council,  for,  while  the  father  may  possess  arbitrary 
power  over  his  children,  the  head  of  the  clan  does  not  ordi¬ 
narily  exercise  such  autocratic  power  over  the  clan.  He 
consults  with  the  members  of  the  clan.  In  the  clan  council 
all  families  of  the  clan  are  on  an  equality.  If  a  man  has 
been  guilty  of  unfilial  conduct  or  done  something  to  bring 
discredit  upon  the  clan,  the  assembled  members  of  the  clan 
may  decide  to  punish  him  by  removing  his  name  from  the 
register,  thus  depriving  him  of  all  right  to  participate  in 
the  inheritance  of  his  family.  They  may  even  condemn  him 
to  death  and  execute  the  sentence.  A  case  occurred  a  few 
years  ago  in  which  a  man  was  expelled  from  the  clan  for 
becoming  a  Christian.  The  Government  does  not  interfere 
in  such  matters.  Indeed  the  law  itself  provides  for  the 
punishment  of  unfilial  conduct.  This  reminds  us  of  the 
Law  of  Moses  which  punished  with  death  any  one  who 
should  curse  his  father  or  mother.  (Exodus  xxi:  17.) 

The  Manchu  Government  not  only  did  not  interfere  with 
the  punishment  by  a  clan  of  its  members,  but  it  was  even 
compelled  to  tolerate  war  by  one  clan  upon  another.  In 
southern  China,  where,  as  I  have  said,  the  clans  are  stronger 
than  in  the  north  and  more  compactly  organized,  one  often 
heard  of  clan  feuds,  which  reminded  him  of  the  mountaineer 
feuds  of  eastern  Kentucky.  The  clans  are  so  powerful  in 
their  own  districts  that  the  Government  in  the  past  has  not 
been  able  to  put  an  end  to  such  private  wars. 


The  Family 


61 


VICARIOUS  PUNISHMENT 

The  solidarity  of  the  family  is  shown,  furthermore,  by 
the  responsibility  admitted  by  the  clan  or  family  for  the 
deeds  of  any  one  of  its  members.  If  a  man  owes  a  debt, 
it  is  not  canceled  by  his  death  and  the  seizure  of  all  his 
property;  his  relatives  can  be  called  upon  to  pay  the  bal¬ 
ance  due.  If  a  debtor  absconds,  some  member  of  his  family 
may  be  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  his  stead,  for  imprison¬ 
ment  for  debt  has  not  yet  been  abolished  in  China.  And 
once  in  prison,  a  man  does  not  get  out  until,  as  the  Scrip¬ 
ture  says,  he  has  paid  the  “ uttermost  farthing.”  This 
responsibility  of  a  family  for  the  conduct  of  its  members 
was  strongly  insisted  upon  by  the  old  Penal  Code  of  the 
Manchus,  which  however  was  a  slight  improvement  on  that 
of  the  Ming  Dynasty  that  preceded  it.  The  Manchu  Code 
was  revised  by  Edict  of  the  old  Empress  Dowager  in  1905, 
and  vicarious  punishment  for  the  most  part  abolished,  but 
only  in  respect  of  criminal  offenses.  Under  that  old  code 
a  serious  crime  committed  by  a  man  automatically  involved 
in  punishment  all  his  own  family  and  his  paternal  relatives 
to  the  third  degree.  If  a  man  were  convicted  of  treason, 
for  instance,  he  himself  was  put  to  death  by  the  slow 
process  of  slicing.  His  father,  his  grandfather,  his 
brothers,  his  father’s  brothers  and  their  sons,  as  well  as 
his  own  sons,  if  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  were  all  put  to 
death.  His  sons  or  his  uncles’  sons  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  were  sold  into  slavery  (after  castration),  and  his 
wife,  mother,  paternal  grandmother,  paternal  aunts,  and 
his  own  unmarried  and  unbetrothed  daughters  were  also 
sold  as  slaves.6 

Although  this  severe  punishment  of  a  man’s  relatives 
shocks  us,  it  was  but  little  more  cruel  than  that  which  pre¬ 
vailed  under  British  law  so  late  as  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century.  High  treason  in  Great  Britain  was  then 
punished  by  attainder  of  blood  and  property,  which  made 
the  criminal  an  outlaw,  deprived  him  of  the  right  to  inherit 
or  transmit  property,  and  thus  involved  his  family  in  the 

e  Ta  Ch’ing  Lii  Li,  Vol.  XXIII;  Section  on  Rebellion,  fol.  i. 


62 


The  Family 


punishment.  In  addition  to  this  the  guilty  man  was 
hanged,  but  before  he  was  dead  was  cut  down,  placed  upon 
a  wattle  mat,  dragged  to  a  cross-road  and  there  disem¬ 
boweled,  beheaded,  dismembered  and  the  four  quarters  sus¬ 
pended,  one  at  each  corner  of  the  roads.7 

In  1901  the  American  Government,  when  settling  the 
“ Boxer’ 7  troubles  interceded  for  the  relatives  of  Chang 
Yin-huang,  who  had  been  accused  of  plotting  against  the 
Manchu  Government  while  he  was  Chinese  Minister  at 
Washington.  The  Minister  was  put  to  death  while  being 
sent  into  exile,  his  sentence  having  been  commuted  at  the 
request  of  the  American  Government.  Despite  the  promise 
to  spare  his  life  he  was  treacherously  murdered.  His 
property  had  been  seized  and  his  sons  were  in  serious  dan¬ 
ger,  when  advantage  was  taken  of  the  settlement  of  the 
“ Boxer”  claims  to  rescue  them  from  the  threatened  pun¬ 
ishment. 

INDIVIDUALISM 

Now,  while  Chinese  law  looks  upon  the  family  as  the 
social  unit,  modern  Western  civilization  emphasizes  the 
importance  of  the  individual — asserts  his  rights  and  points 
out  his  duties.  It  is  all  a  part  of  the  general  progress  of 
democratic  ideas.  The  contact  between  the  East  and  the 
West,  which  has  produced  so  many  serious  effects  in  China, 
has  brought  these  two  systems  into  conflict. 

In  a  dembcracy  men  must  learn  to  think  for  themselves, 
if  their  system  of  government  is  to  be  a  success.  The 
Chinese  classics,  themselves,  recognize  that  self-control  is 
the  root  of  good  government,  for  the  Chung  Yung  says: 
“He  that  would  rule  the  state  must  first  learn  to  govern 
his  own  family,  and  he  that  would  govern  his  family  must 
first  learn  to  control  himself.”  But  while  there  were  a 
great  many  democratic  principles  approved  in  theory  in 
China  before  the  advent  of  the  European,  it  was  the  com¬ 
ing  of  the  Western  man  that  stirred  them  into  activity. 

7  Blackstone,  Book  IV :  Sec.  91  and  Sec.  429. 


The  Family 


63 


The  Christian  missionary,  especially,  emphasized  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  the  individual  for  his  own  conduct,  and  the 
worth  of  the  individual  soul.  He  insisted  that  each  man 
should  do  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  whether  his  family 
approved  or  not,  that 

No  man  can  save  his  brother’s  soul, 

Or  pay  his  brother’s  debt, 


as  Matthew  Arnold  has  said.  Such  teaching,  as  the  Scrip¬ 
ture  declares,  tended  to  set  ‘  ‘  the  mother  against  the  daugh¬ 
ter  and  the  mother-in-law  against  the  daughter-in-law,  and 
to  make  a  man’s  foes  those  of  his  own  household.”  The 
missionary  refused  to  excuse  a  man  because  he  fol¬ 
lowed  the  faith  of  his  fathers  or  obeyed  the  injunctions 
of  his  clan.  This  was  one  cause  of  the  hostility  of 
the  Chinese  to  the  missionary.  We  must,  I  think,  admit 
the  advantage  of  this  individualism  in  the  long  run  to  the 
progress  of  the  race.  Progress  is  impossible  under  the  rule 
of  the  dead  hand.  It  is  only  by  breaking  away  from  the 
traditions  of  our  fathers  that  we  can  improve  upon  our 
fathers.  This  is  true  of  ourselves  as  well  as  of  the  Chinese. 
We  ought  to  remember  our  fathers  with  reverence  and  be 
grateful  for  all  that  they  did,  but  our  real  loyalty  is  best 
shown,  not  by  literal  adherence  to  their  doctrines  or  exact 
imitation  of  their  practices,  but  by  devotion  to  the  truth. 
This  is  the  only  guiding  star.  He  that  discovers  a  new 
truth  lights  a  new  star  in  the  firmament  to  guide  men 
through  the  night  of  ignorance.  The  backward  look  is 
fatal  to  progress.  He  that  puts  his  hand  to  the  plough  and 
looks  back  will  plough  a  very  crooked  furrow.  Under  the 
old  regime  in  China  a  man  looked  back  with  reverence  to 
the  beliefs  and  practices  of  his  ancestors  and  dared  not 
change  from  them.  Ancestor  worship  confirmed  and  em¬ 
phasized  this  tendency.  With  the  introduction  of  a  new 
religion  and  of  democratic  ideals,  the  power  of  tradition 
was  weakened  and  the  tyranny  of  the  family  was  lessened. 
This,  however,  has  led  to  a  moral  crisis  in  China. 


64 


The  Family 


i 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP  AND  MORALS 

Filial  piety  is  the  strongest  sentiment  experienced  by  the 
Chinese.  The  worship  of  his  ancestors  is  his  religion.  The 
acceptance  of  their  faith  and  the  observance  of  the  rites 
as  enjoined  by  them  is  held  to  be  a  solemn  duty.  The 
ethical  teaching  received  from  them  is  his  moral  law.  This 
filial  piety,  then,  affords  the  strongest  sanction  of  the  moral 
law  of  which  he  has  any  knowledge.  Take  away  his  rever¬ 
ence  for  his  ancestors  and  what  is  there  to  bind  him  to 
moral  living  ?  The  family  solidarity  meant  and  still  means 
to  most  Chinese  moral  living. 

We  know,  of  course,  that  ethical  standards  find  their 
sanction  not  in  the  teachings  of  any  ancestor,  nor  in  the 
regulations  of  any  clan.  Neither  do  they  find  it  in  the 
teachings  of  any  book  of  ethics.  They  are  broad  based  upon 
the  law  of  our  being — proved  by  the  experience  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  generations,  for  moral  precepts  have  a  natural  sanc¬ 
tion.  The  ordinary  Chinese,  however,  does  not  know  this. 
Therefore,  some  Chinese  statesmen  have  feared  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  Western  education  and  Western  political  ideas. 

The  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung,  when  he  collaborated  with 
the  Minister  of  Education,  Chang  Po-hsi,  in  preparing  the 
regulations  for  the  Public  School  System  introduced  in 
1904,  emphasized  the  importance  of  insisting  upon  the  ob¬ 
servance  in  the  schools  of  the  Confucian  religion,  for 
“otherwise/’  he  said,  “the  morals  of  the  students  would 
deteriorate.  ’  ’ 

We  have  heard  similar  statements  from  our  own  pes¬ 
simistic  prophets,  who  have  feared  the  teaching  of  certain 
sciences  in  our  schools,  lest  the  foundations  of  faith  should 
be  shaken.  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  some  years  ago  in 
the  Atlantic  Monthly  foretold  a  coming  moral  interregnum 
because  of  the  effect  of  the  evolutionary  philosophy  upon 
religious  belief,  but  it  has  not  materialized. 

In  a  somewhat  similar  frame  of  mind,  Liang  Ch  ’i-ch  ’ao, 
the  foremost  scholar  of  China  to-day,  deprecates  the  growth 
of  individualism  among  his  people  because  of  the  weaken- 


TABLET  TOWER,  PRIVATE  CEMETERY. 


The  Family 


65 


ing  of  the  family  bonds  which  he  thinks  essential  to  the 
morals  of  the  rising  generation. 

In  the  long  run,  however,  these  things  correct  them¬ 
selves.  There  is  no  real  safety  except  in  following  the  truth. 
“Ye  shall  know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you 
free,  ’  ’  is  a  declaration  of  wide  application.  It  is  never  safe 
to  bottle  up  the  truth ;  there  is  danger  of  an  explosion.  If 
you  try  to  persuade  young  people  not  to  investigate  cer¬ 
tain  branches  of  learning,  lest  their  faith  be  shaken,  you 
at  once  sow  doubt  as  to  the  value  of  a  faith  that  can  be 
shaken.  The  better  way  is  to  show  that  moral  precepts  do 
not  rest  upon  any  insecure  foundation,  but  are  grounded 
in  nature  and  the  eternal. 

So,  while  there  are  young  Chinese  with  lax  morals  who 
have  lost  confidence  in  the  wisdom  of  their  fathers,  the 
remedy  is  in  making  them  see  that  the  requirements  of  the 
moral  law  are  essential  to  the  existence  of  society.  Moral 
precepts  are  binding,  not  because  my  father  said  so,  nor 
because  some  sacred  book  says  so,  but  the  sacred  book  says 
so  and  my  fathers  said  so,  because  the  experience  of  the 
race  had  found  that  they  were  binding. 

This  acceptance  of  the  family  as  the  social  unit  and  the 
habit  of  submitting  for  a  hundred  generations  and  more 
to  the  authority  of  the  clan,  has  had,  of  course,  some  very 
noticeable  effects  upon  the  character,  the  customs  and  the 
political  ideals  of  the  race. 

For  one  thing,  it  has  bred  in  the  Chinese  a  great  re¬ 
spect  for  authority,  a  tendency  to  obey  those  in  power.  As 
a  rule  the  Chinese,  wherever  you  find  them,  are  quiet, 
orderly  and  law-abiding. 

For  another  thing,  it  has  fostered  in  them  an  undue  rev¬ 
erence  for  the  past,  and  made  the  Chinese  the  most  con¬ 
servative  of  all  races,  the  race  most  unwilling  to  change. 
When  I  first  went  to  China  I  tried  to  rent  a  house.  The 
owner  desired  to  have  the  money  that  the  rent  would 
bring  him,  but  was  doubtful  of  the  propriety  of  renting 
to  a  foreigner.  He  consulted  his  ancestors  by  casting  lots 
in  the  hall  before  the  tablets  of  his  fathers.  The  lot  was 
unfavorable  and  he,  therefore,  refused  to  let  me  have  the 


66 


The  Family 


house.  So  the  dead  were  still  ruling  the  living.  This  rev¬ 
erence  has  been  an  obstacle  to  all  progress.  It  has  not  only 
opposed  religious  propaganda,  but  sanitation,  plague  pre¬ 
vention,  and  all  educational  and  political  reform.  Happily 
now  this  conservatism  is  breaking  down  because  family 
solidarity  is  being  given  up. 


FAMILY  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEMOCRACY 

The  recognition  of  family  unity  and  authority  would 
seem  at  first  sight  to  encourage  the  adoption  of  a  monar¬ 
chical  and  autocratic  form  of  government.  To  a  certain  ex¬ 
tent  this  is  true,  and  the  family  has  been  made  the  pattern 
of  government.  The  Emperor  stood  to  his  people  in  loco 
'parentis.  The  people  were  regarded  as  his  children  and 
taught  to  reverence  and  obey  him.  The  patria  potestas 
was  his.  He  could  do  as  he  liked  with  his  children,  and 
they  ought  not  to  murmur.  The  local  mandarin,  too,  the 
representative  of  the  Emperor,  was  called  the  “fu-mu- 
kuan,”  that  is  to  say,  the  father-mother-official. 

This  tendency  towards  autocracy,  however,  was  greatly 
modified  by  another  feature  of  family  government,  the  clan 
council.  The  head  of  the  clan  was  not  an  autocrat.  All 
heads  of  families  in  the  clan  participated  in  the  discussion 
and  decision.  The  custom  of  meeting  together  to  discuss 
clan  affairs,  the  practice  of  settling  these  affairs  themselves 
without  appeal  to  the  State,  and  the  tendency  even  to 
ignore  and  over-ride  the  political  authorities  by  executing 
judgment  upon  an  offender  and  by  waging  private  war — 
all  this  tended  to  produce  in  the  family  as  a  unit  a  feeling 
of  independence  and  a  capacity  for  self-government. 

This  tendency  towards  democratic  feeling  and  action 
seems  to  have  been  stronger  than  that  towards  submission 
to  autocracy,  for  it  is  in  the  south  where  the  family  is 
most  thoroughly  organized  and  the  clans  most  powerful 
that  we  find  democratic  sentiment  most  generally  nourished 
and  expressed.  In  the  north,  moreover,  where  family  senti¬ 
ment  is  weaker,  we  see  a  willingness  to  submit  to  autocratic 


The  Family 


67 


rule.  This  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  In  the  south  of 
China  the  individual  submitted  to  the  rule  of  his  own  clan, 
and  was  trained  to  look  upon  the  authority  of  his  clan 
as  superior  to  that  of  the  State  whenever  there  was  conflict 
between  them.  But  he  also  participated  in  the  councils 
of  the  clan,  and  he  thus  became  a  ready  believer  in  Dopular 
government. 

In  the  north  the  authority  of  the  father  was  admitted, 
but  there  was  less  family  consultation,  fewer  well  organized 
clans,  and  consequently  less  experience  in  settling  matters 
among  themselves.  Moreover  the  willingness  to  submit 
to  the  control  of  a  monarch  was  daily  inculcated  by  the 
nearness  of  the  Imperial  Court  and  the  experience  of  its 
power  and  dread  of  its  tyranny.  The  pomp  of  the  court, 
too,  bred  an  admiration  for  monarchical  forms.  There  are 
other  reasons  for  the  differences  between  the  people  of  the 
north  and  the  south  of  China,  of  which  mention  will  be  made 
hereafter.  This  difference  in  regard  to  the  organization  and 
authority  of  the  family  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind  when 
we  have  our  attention  called  to  the  present  struggle  in 
China  between  the  extreme  liberals  at  Canton  and  the  con¬ 
servatives  at  Peking. 

Bertha  Phillpotts,  in  her  ‘  ‘  Kindred  and  Clan,  ’  ’  says  of  the 
clan  in  Europe:  “Where  adhesive  kindreds  persist  into 
the  later  Middle  Ages,  there  the  peasant  or  townsman  tends 
to  be  free.  Where,  on  the  other  hand,  the  solidarity  of  the 
kindred  disappears  early,  there  the  liberty  of  the  individual 
suffers  and  seignorial  rights  make  their  appearance.  ’  ’ 8 
This  statement  is  equally  true  of  the  history  of  the  clan 
in  China. 

RELATIONSHIP 

Relationship  is  frequently  defined  in  terms  of  the  mourn¬ 
ing  regulations.  This  is  the  practice  in  the  old  Penal 
Code. 

The  nearest  of  kin  are  those  for  whom  the  heaviest 
mourning  is  worn,  and  nearness  is  measured  by  gradations 

s  Op.  cit.,  p.  254. 


68 


The  Family 


in  mourning.  For  one’s  father  a  man  wears  until  after 
the  funeral  a  dress  of  coarse  sackcloth  with  frayed  edges. 
This  degree  of  mourning  is  called  Chan  Shuai.  For  such 
relatives  one  continues  to  mourn  for  three  years.  For  one ’s 
mother  a  man  wears  second  mourning.  Until  after  burial 
this  consists  of  a  sackcloth  less  coarse  than  first  mourning, 
and  the  garments  have  finshed  edges.  This  is  called  Ch’i 
Shuai.  Relatives  of  the  third  degree  are  those  for  whom 
the  mourning  is  worn  nine  months.  The  next  nearest  are 
those  for  whom  mourning  is  worn  five  months,  and  the  fifth 
degree  of  relationship  is  expressed  by  the  term  for  fifth 
degree  mourning,  that  for  three  months. 

Relatives  of  the  same  surname  are  regarded  as  of  far 
greater  importance  than  those  of  another  name,  and  reck¬ 
oned  correspondingly  closer  of  kin.  The  Chinese  language 
is  rich  in  terms  defining  relationship;  there  are  different 
names  for  relatives  on  the  mother ’s  side  from  those  applied 
to  corresponding  relatives  on  the  father’s  side,  and  relation¬ 
ship  through  a  daughter  is  unlike  that  through  a  son. 

The  Chinese  recognize  three  social  ties  as  of  the  greatest 
importance;  those  between  ruler  and  subject,  between  hus¬ 
band  and  wife,  and  between  father  and  son.  These  are  at 
times  increased  to  five  by  the  addition  of  two  more;  those 
between  older  and  younger  brothers  and  between  friend 
and  friend.  Friendship  is  frequently  sealed  by  a  blood 
covenant.  By  pricking  a  finger  a  drop  of  blood  is  contri¬ 
buted  by  each  friend  to  a  cup  of  wine,  of  which  both  then 
partake.  The  obligations  of  such  friends  are  like  those  of 
relatives  by  blood.  A  passage  in  the  Li  Ki  says :  “With  the 
slayer  of  one’s  father  a  man  should  not  live  under  the  same 
sky;  on  meeting  the  slayer  of  one’s  brother  one  should  not 
have  to  go  back  for  his  sword  to  avenge  the  killing ;  with 
the  murderer  of  a  friend  one  ought  not  to  live  in  the  same 
state.  ’  ’ 9 

The  Sacred  Edict  of  K’ang  hsi  gives  great  importance  to 
the  relationship  between  brothers.  It  is  second  only  to  that 
between  father  and  son.  “Brothers,”  we  are  told,  “can 
not  be  treated  as  different  persons:  they  are  of  one  flesh 

9  Li  Ki,  Bk.  I  Ch’ii  Li  1:27. 


The  Family 


69 


and  blood,  just  like  hands  and  feet.”  The  commentator 
complains  that  men  are  apt  to  love  their  wives  more  than 
their  brothers,  and  says:  “But  if  your  wife  dies  you  can 
get  another ;  if  your  brother  dies  how  can  he  be  replaced  ?  ’  ’ 
The  duty  of  obedience  to  an  older  brother  becomes  at  times, 
no  doubt,  very  irksome,  as  to  us  it  appears  very  unjust; 
and  when  several  sons  are  living  with  their  wives  and  chil¬ 
dren  in  the  same  compound,  a  tyrannical  older  brother  with 
his  arrogant  wife  must  be  the  cause  of  much  unhappiness. 
The  solidarity  of  the  family  in  primitive  society  no  doubt 
had  its  advantages,  but  greater  freedom  for  the  individual 
and  a  separate  home  for  each  husband  and  wife  undoubt¬ 
edly  means  greater  happiness  for  the  greater  number. 


CHAPTER  IV 


t 


MARRIAGE  AND  THE  STATUS  OF  WOMAN 

But  happy  they!  The  happiest  of  their  kind! 

Whom  gentler  stars  unite  and  in  one  fate 
Their  hearts,  their  fortunes  and  their  beings  blend. 

Thomson. 

The  woman  followed  the  man.  In  youth  she  obeyed  her  father  and 
brother.  Married,  she  obeyed  her  husband,  and,  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  she  obeyed  her  son. 

Li  Ki,  xi:38. 


The  family  being  the  social  unit  in  China,  marriage  as 
the  foundation  of  the  family  has  always  from  the  most 
ancient  times  been  treated  by  the  Chinese  with  all  the  seri¬ 
ousness  which  its  importance  demands.  The  marriage  state 
for  them  has  always  been  one  to  be  entered  into  only  with 
due  formality  and  with  the  observance  of  religious  rites. 

RELIGIOUS  SANCTION 

In  the  Li  Ki,  which  is  the  Chinese  Leviticus,  dating  in 
its  present  form  from  the  second  century  A.D.  but  contain¬ 
ing  a  record  of  ceremonies  observed  from  before  the  time 
of  Confucius,  we  are  told  that  “the  marriage  ceremony  is 
the  root  of  all  ceremony.  ’  ’ 1 

In  antiquity,  it  is  said,  the  proposal  of  marriage  was 
received  by  the  young  woman’s  father  in  the  ancestral 
temple.2  The  spirits  of  his  ancestors  were  witnesses  of  the 
solemn  betrothal.  “As  for  the  marriage  rite,”  says  the 
Hun  I,  “it  secured  the  affectionate  union  of  two  families. 
Looking  back,  it  sought  to  keep  up  the  worship  of  ances¬ 
tors  ;  looking  forward,  it  aimed  to  continue  the  line  of  de¬ 
scendants.  ’  ’ 3 

1  Li  Ki,  Book  xliv,  Hun  I  or  “  Meaning  of  Marriage. 7  7 

2  Ibid. 

3  Ibid. 


70 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  71 

To-day  some  of  the  young  people  of  China,  under  the 
impression  that  what  is  old  is  useless,  are  rejecting  the 
ceremonies  of  their  fathers  and  trying  to  make  marriage 
a  purely  legal  relation.  But  this  is  perhaps  merely  a  pass¬ 
ing  phase  in  the  modernization  or  Westernization  of  the 
country.  The  masses  of  the  people  still  adhere  to  the  tra¬ 
ditions  of  their  ancestors  and  to  the  ceremonies  of  Confu¬ 
cianism.  Betrothal  and  marriage  for  most  Chinese  are 
not  only  matters  of  formal  contract  duly  witnessed,  as 
they  have  always  been,  but  solemn  ceremonies  to  which 
Heaven  and  Earth  and  the  spirits  of  ancestors  are  called 
to  bear  witness.  Marriage,  indeed,  is  represented  as  fore¬ 
shadowed  by  the  “ Union  of  Heaven  and  Earth,”  which 
‘  ‘  has  given  birth  to  the  myriad  creatures  of  the  world.  ’  ’  4 


monogamy  and  concubinage 

Marriage  is  not  compulsory  in  China  as  men  have  some¬ 
times  tried  to  make  it  in  other  lands,  but  celibacy  is  frowned 
upon,  just  as  it  was  in  the  Mosaic  legislation.5  Old  maids 
are  rarely  seen  and,  if  a  young  man  is  unmarried  it  is 
usually  due  to  poverty. 

Monogamy  is  the  rule,  but  bigamy  has  been  legalized  in 
the  past  under  certain  circumstances,  and  concubinage  is 
tolerated.  Even  polyandry  is  known  in  at  least  two  regions. 

Generally  speaking,  in  China  a  man  has  but  one  wife, 
but  he  may  have  many  concubines,  as  many  as  he  cares 
to  support.  Even  the  revised  Penal  Code  does  not  forbid 
concubinage.  But,  while  the  practice  is  still  tolerated,  it 
is  falling  more  and  more  under  the  ban  of  public  opinion. 

Under  the  Empire  the  Emperor  had  one  wife,  the  Em¬ 
press,  but  he  usually  had  also  a  secondary  consort,  four 
ladies  of  the  third  rank,  and  many  of  lower  grades.  The 

4  Li  Ki,  Vol.  Y.  Book  XI,  Chiao  T’e  Sheng,  or  Sacrifies  at 
Suburban  Altars. 

5  A  quaint  discussion  of  this  is  given  in  an  old  work,  1 ‘  The  An¬ 
tiquities  of  the  Hebrew  Republick,”  by  Tho.  Lewis,  M.A.  LONDON. 
Printed  for  Sam.  Illidge  under  Serle’s  Gate,  Lincoln’s  Inn,  New 
Square;  and  John  Hooke,  at  the  Flower-dc-Luce,  over  against  St. 
Dunstan’s  Church  in  Fleet  St. 


74 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman 


in  striking  contrast  with  the  rule.  The  system  to-day  is 
recognized  as  evil  by  the  most  enlightened  opinion  in  China, 
and  is  one  that  is  being  abandoned. 

Not  only  do  the  children  of  concubines  call  the  principal 
wife  the  mother,  they  must  wear  full  mourning  for  her 
when  she  dies,  that  is  for  three  years  (by  custom  reduced 
to  27  months)  if  they  are  sons  or  unmarried  daughters. 
They  are  not  permitted  to  wear  such  mourning  for  their 
natural  mother. 

All  children,  whether  of  wife  or  concubine,  stand  upon 
an  equality  as  regards  inheritance.  If  the  wife,  however, 
should  have  a  son,  he  will  become  the  head  of  the  house¬ 
hold  after  his  father’s  death,  even  though  he  may  have  an 
older  brother  who  is  the  son  of  a  concubine. 


LAWFUL  BIGAMY 

I  have  said  that  under  certain  circumstances  bigamy  is 
legalized.  The  circumstances  are  those  which  require  a 
man  to  keep  up  a  double  sacra. 

The  present  boy  Emperor,  Hsiiant’ung,  who,  although 
he  has  no  empire  is  still  permitted  to  retain  his  title,  was 
the  adopted  son  of  the  late  Emperor  Kuanghsu,  but  also 
made  adopted  son  and  heir  of  the  former  Emperor  T’ung- 
chih,  cousin  of  Kuanghsu.  T’ungchih  died  childless.  It 
becomes  necessary,  therefore,  for  this  heir  to  provide  two 
lines  of  descendants,  one  for  T’ungchih,  the  other  for 
Kuanghsu.  Hence,  it  was  agreed  that  when  he  should 
reach  marriageable  age  he  should  take  two  wives  and  main¬ 
tain  two  households  of  equal  rank.  He  was  married  in 
December,  1922,  but,  in  so  far  as  reported,  he  has  taken 
but  one  wife. 

POLYANDRY 

Polyandry  is  practiced  in  Tibet  and  in  two  districts  of 
Fukien  Province.  In  both  regions  the  custom  is  due  to 
poverty.  A  woman  becomes  the  wife  of  all  the  brothers 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  75 

of  one  family.  The  wife  remains  at  home  in  charge  of 
whatever  little  property  there  may  be,  while  her  husbands 
take  turns  in  living  with  her,  and  in  turn  go  abroad  to 
increase  the  earnings  of  the  family.  The  practice  keeps 
down  the  birth-rate,  and  so  reduces  the  pressure  of  popu¬ 
lation  upon  subsistence. 


BETROTHAL. 

Marriages  are  generally  arranged  by  the  parents  of  the 
young  people,  whose  wishes  are  not  at  all  considered.  The 
first  step  is  betrothal.  This  is  brought  about  by  a  broker, 
usually  an  old  woman,  who  is  engaged  by  one  family  or  the 
other,  generally  by  the  family  of  the  groom.  But  some¬ 
times,  being  a  professional  match-maker,  she  is  on  the 
lookout  for  suitable  alliances  and  herself  offers  her  services. 
In  some  cases  among  the  very  poor,  parents  arrange  a 
betrothal  while  their  children  are  still  infants,  and  even 
before  they  are  born,  pledging  themselves  that  if  one  have 
a  son  and  the  other  a  daughter  they  shall  be  married.  I 
knew  very  well  in  Nanking  a  family  with  one  son,  which 
adopted  for  him  a  wife  while  both  were  babies,  and  brought 
up  the  little  girl  in  the  home  with  her  future  husband. 
They  played  together  as  brother  and  sister  while  they  were 
children,  and  later  the  girl  was  sent  to  one  mission  school 
and  the  boy  to  another.  After  they  had  completed  the 
course  of  study  they  were  married. 

If  a  broker  is  employed,  the  parents  of  the  principals 
generally  manage  to  get  a  glimpse  of  their  future  son-in- 
law  or  daughter-in-law,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  sometimes 
the  principals  also  succeed  in  getting  a  look  at  the  fu¬ 
ture  husband  or  wife.  The  young  man,  of  course,  is  easily 
seen,  unless  he  lives  at  a  great  distance  from  the  young 
lady’s  home,  for  he  is  often  on  the  street.  He  does  not  find 
it  so  easy  to  get  a  view  of  his  fiancee,  for  under  the  old 
regime  young  ladies  were  seldom  seen  walking  on  the  street. 
This  is  still  the  rule.  When  they  go  out  on  rare  occasions, 
they  ride  in  a  cart  (in  north  China)  or  a  sedan  chair  and 
are  accompanied  by  a  chaperon.  Brokers  are  not  at  all 


76  Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman 

scrupulous,  and  many  tales  are  told  of  the  deceptions  which 
they  practice  in  order  to  bring  about  a  marriage  contract 
and  secure  their  fees.  At  the  ports  where  Western  influ¬ 
ences  are  strong  and  foreign  manners  are  in  vogue,  and  in 
missionary  circles,  where  many  of  the  old  customs  are  taboo, 
there  are  marriages  arranged  by  methods  more  like  those 
which  obtain  in  Europe,  and  once  in  a  while  a  young  man 
and  a  young  woman  will  enter  into  an  engagement  quite 
on  the  American  plan,  without  waiting  for  parents  or 
brokers.  Sometimes  they  elope  and  are  married  secretly 
in  order  to  escape  the  unions  which  have  been  arranged  for 
them  by  their  parents.  Generally  speaking,  however,  the 
old-time  methods  and  customs  still  prevail. 

The  marriage  contract  is  an  exchange  of  red  cards  on 
which  the  names  of  the  principals,  of  their  parents,  the 
brokers,  and  the  horoscope  of  the  prospective  bride  and 
groom  are  written,  that  of  the  groom  on  one,  that  of  the 
bride  on  the  other.  A  picture  of  a  dragon  is  printed  on 
one  side  of  the  groom’s  card,  and  of  a  phoenix  on  that  of 
the  bride.  Each  card  is  accompanied  by  a  needle  threaded 
with  a  red  thread.  These  red  cords  are  sometimes  used  to 
tie  together  the  wine-cups  out  of  which  they  drink  in  the 
wedding  ceremony,  but  at  other  times  they  are  used  in  the 
dress  of  bride  and  groom. 

The  contract  is  a  very  formal  document  and  is  protected 
by  the  courts.  It  cannot  be  broken  without  the  payment 
of  damages  by  the  party  at  fault.  A  money  payment  is 
provided  for  by  the  family  of  the  groom  to  that  of  the 
bride.  This  is  not  to  be  looked  upon,  however,  as  the  price 
of  the  bride,  so  much  as  a  compensation  to  her  family  for 
the  loss  of  her  services,  and  in  practice  the  money  returns 
to  the  family  of  the  groom  in  the  outfit  of  the  bride  which 
accompanies  her  to  her  new  home. 


THE  HOROSCOPE  AND  THE  WEDDING  DAY 

After  the  betrothal  is  made  the  family  of  the  groom  sends 
presents  to  the  bride  and  her  family,  including  bracelet 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  77 


and  ring  and  two  fish,  and  the  bride’s  family  return  a 
present  of  artificial  flowers,  vermicelli,  bread  and  cakes. 
Everything  sent  has  some  good-luck  significance,  and  the 
customs  vary  somewhat  from  province  to  province.  The 
vermicelli,  for  instance,  signifies  long  life.  We  have,  of 
course,  our  own  superstitions,  and  even  though  we  may  be 
no  longer  superstitious,  we  keep  up  these  customs.  So  the 
Chinese  also  keep  up  their  old  customs. 

The  Chinese  Almanac,  formerly  prepared  by  the  Govern¬ 
ment  College  at  Peking,  marked  the  lucky  days  in  the 
calendar,  but  while  these  are  ordinarily  lucky  they  may 
not  be  so  for  every  individual.  The  wedding  day  is  selected 
about  three  months  in  advance;  it  must,  of  course,  be  on 
a  lucky  day  in  the  calendar,  but  also  one  of  these  days 
which  will  be  lucky  for  the  pair  to  be  married  and  for  their 
parents.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  send  for  a  fortune 
teller.  He  must  consult  the  horoscope  of  the  bride  and 
groom.  This  is  indicated,  in  the  case  of  each,  by  eight  char¬ 
acters,  which  tell  the  year,  the  month,  the  day  and  the 
hours  of  birth — one  pair  of  characters  for  each  period.  If 
the  astrologer  be  a  first-class  one  he  will  take  into  consid¬ 
eration  the  28  constellations,  the  60  cycle  stars,  the  12  con¬ 
stellations  of  the  zodiac,  and  the  129  lucky  and  unlucky 
stars. 

The  characters  which  tell  the  year,  month,  day  and  hour 
of  one’s  birth  are  those  of  the  ten  stems  and  twelve 
branches,  which  are  capable  of  60  combinations,  that  is  to 
say  one  for  each  year  of  the  cycle,  for  a  ‘  ‘  cycle  of  Cathay  ’  ’ 
is  only  60  years  long.  The  ten  stems  correspond  to  cer¬ 
tain  of  the  five  elements  and  also  to  the  five  planets,  and 
the  twelve  branches  to  the  twelve  hours  of  the  day  (for  in 
old  China  each  hour  is  twice  the  length  of  ours),  and  to 
the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  as  well  as  to  certain  animals 
and  to  certain  directions.  The  ten  stems  and  twelve 
branches  are  as  follows: 


78 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman 


The  Ten  Stems : 


Chia 

corresponds  to  wood  and  to  Jupiter. 

Yi 

<  i 

i  i 

<  <  n  ti  a 

Ping 

1 1 

( ( 

fire  “  Mars. 

Ting 

( ( 

<  l 

( (  n  a  n 

Mou 

( ( 

i  t 

earth,  “  4  4  Saturn. 

Chi 

i  ( 

<  i 

<  (  n  n  a 

Keng 

i  ( 

i  i 

metal  “  “  Venus. 

Hsin 

<  < 

l  i 

t  c  a  a  a 

Jen 

( i 

( l 

water  “  “  Mercury. 

Kuei 

The  Twelve  Branches 

i  l 

• 

• 

<  (  a  ( i  (( 

Tzu 

corresponds  to 

Aries,  rat,  North. 

Ch’ou 

1 1 

i  l 

Taurus,  Ox,  N.N.E. 

Yin 

i  < 

l « 

Gemini,  Tiger,  N.E.E. 

Mao 

<  < 

i  i 

Cancer,  Hare,  E. 

Ch’en 

i  i 

( ( 

Leo,  Dragon,  E.S.E. 

Ssu 

i  t 

<  i 

Virgo,  Serpent,  S.E.S. 

Wtt 

C  l 

( i 

Libra,  Horse,  S. 

Wei 

i  ( 

i  l 

Scorpio,  Sheep,  S.S.W. 

Shen 

( i 

i  < 

Saggitarius,  Monkey,  S.W.W. 

Yu 

<  < 

l  ( 

Capricornus,  Cock,  W. 

Hsu 

i  c 

i  c 

Aquarius,  Dog,  W.N.W. 

Hai 

< « 

1 1 

Pisces,  Boar,  N.W.N. 

The  hour  corresponding  to  Tzu  is  11  p.m.  to  1  a.m.  The 
constellation  is  Aries  and  the  animal  the  rat.  The  year 
1922,  for  instance,  is  Jen-Hsu ,  the  sign  is  Aquarius,  the 
planet  is  Mercury  and  the  animal  the  dog.  You  can  see 
what  a  fine  chance  there  is  for  a  man  with  an  imaginative 
mind  to  invent  an  interesting  fortune  for  the  happy  pair. 

THE  WEDDING  CEREMONY 

A  month  before  the  wedding  the  groom’s  family  sends 
presents  again,  among  which  are  cakes,  fruit,  five  kinds  of 
silk  for  the  bride’s  trousseau,  wine,  the  money  payment,  and 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  79 

a  gander  and  goose — emblems  of  the  happy  pair.  I  remem¬ 
ber  once  meeting  such  a  procession  of  gifts.  The  pair  of 
geese  were  naturally  pure  white  but  had  been  dyed  red, 
because  white  is  the  color  of  mourning  and  red  that  of 
happiness.  We  may  laugh  at  the  use  of  the  geese,  but 
after  all  a  pair  of  geese  is  not  a  bad  emblem  of  conjugal 
fidelity,  for  the  gander  selects  one  goose  as  his  mate,  to 
whom  he  pays  special  attention  and  whom  he  never  ex¬ 
changes  for  another  favorite.  Anciently  the  groom  himself 
carried  a  wild  goose  to  the  home  of  the  young  lady  as  a 
present  to  her  parents.  A  cock  and  a  hen  are  also  sent. 
They  do  not  seem  so  appropriate.  The  family  of  the  bride 
retains  the  silk,  money  and  cakes,  but  returns  one  jar  of 
wine  and  the  female  animals,  keeping  the  gander  and  cock. 

The  bride’s  family  also  sends  a  pair  of  candles  and 
candle-sticks,  and  in  the  old  days  sent  also  a  pair  of  satin 
boots  and  a  mandarin’s  cap  for  the  groom,  as  well  as 
material  for  his  wedding  coat. 

The  cakes  sent  by  the  groom  are  distributed  by  the  bride 
among  her  friends,  as  an  invitation  to  the  wedding. 

Two  or  three  days  before  the  wedding  the  bride  sends  to 
the  family  of  the  groom  a  list  of  the  articles  of  furniture 
which  she  will  contribute  to  the  new  home.  This  announce¬ 
ment  is  to  indicate  to  the  groom’s  family  how  many  carriers 
there  will  be,  so  that  there  will  be  for  each  one  a  present 
of  money,  bright  coins  with  good-luck  emblems  pasted  on 
them. 

The  bride  has  had  to  consult  the  astrologers  and  sooth¬ 
sayers  a  great  many  times  before  she  has  prepared  her 
trousseau,  but  at  last  the  lucky  day  and  hour  arrive.  The 
groom  sends  a  sedan  chair  covered  with  red  cloth  or  silk 
beautifully  embroidered.  This  is  carried  by  four  men.  She 
is  clothed  in  red  silks  and  satins  with  a  red  veil  over  her 
face.  She  weeps  and  wails  and  struggles  with  those  who 
would  tear  her  from  her  home  but  finally  she  is  carried  by 
main  force  to  the  chair  and  locked  in  it.  The  curtains  are 
down  and  no  one  can  see  her.  Fire-crackers  are  set  off  in 
great  quantity  and  a  band  of  music  begins  to  play  as  her 
escort  leads  her  away.  The  music  and  fire-crackers  keep 


80 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Women 


her  company  all  the  way.  Two  lighted  lanterns  head  the 
procession  bearing  the  name  in  large  letters  of  the  groom’s 
family.  These  are  followed  by  another  pair  of  lanterns 
bearing  the  name  of  the  bride’s  family.  Then  comes  a  red 
umbrella,  some  lighted  torches  and  the  groom’s  friends, 
among  them  a  mandarin  if  possible.  There  are  ragged 
urchins  carrying  boards  with  titles,  if  any,  of  the  groom. 
When  a  short  distance  has  been  traveled  the  lanterns  from 
the  bride’s  family  and  her  friends  turn  back.  No  member 
of  her  family  attends  the  wedding,  but  she  frequently  takes 
an  old  servant  with  her. 

On  arrival  at  the  groom’s  home  the  chair  is  set  down, 
and  the  master  of  ceremonies  bids  all  lookers-on  who  were 
not  born  under  the  proper  sign  to  go  away  lest  ill  luck 
happen.  An  old  lady  engaged  for  the  occasion  comes  out 
to  open  the  chair  and  lead  the  bride  in.  She  walks  on  red 
carpet  and  enters  the  house,  where  her  husband  meets  her 
and  escorts  her  to  her  room.  After  going  out  for  a  few 
moments  he  returns  and  pretends  to  lift  her  veil.  They 
sit  down  side  by  side,  each  trying  to  sit  upon  a  portion  of 
the  other’s  garment.  The  one  succeeding  in  so  doing,  it  is 
said,  will  rule  the  house. 

They  then  go  out  into  the  court  under  the  sky  and  kotow 
to  Heaven  and  Earth,  then  into  the  main  hall  to  worship 
the  groom ’s  ancestors.  They  complete  the  service  by  drink¬ 
ing  from  the  cups  of  wine  tied  together  with  a  red  cord. 
Anciently  two  halves  of  a  melon  were  used  instead  of  cups, 
and  this  is  still  the  practice  in  some  places. 

The  bride  and  groom  then  return  to  their  room  to  receive 
their  friends.  She  is  severely  criticized  as  to  looks,  size  of 
her  feet,  clothing,  etc.,  but  she  must  show  no  trace  of  emo¬ 
tion,  neither  pleasure  nor  anger.  The  feasting  follows, 
which  lasts  two  days.  On  the  third  day  she  visits  her 
mother  and  introduces  her  husband. 

Thereafter  she  devotes  herself  to  the  comfort  of  her 
parents-in-law,  and  is  subject  to  the  commands  of  her  hus¬ 
band  and  her  father-in-law.  Happy  is  she  if  she  be  the  wife 
of  the  eldest  son,  otherwise  her  sisters-in-law  may  make  her 
life  far  from  pleasant. 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  81 

If  she  should  become  the  mother  of  a  son  the  whole  house 
will  rejoice,  and  red  eggs  will  be  sent  to  the  neighbors  to 
notify  them  of  the  event.  If  a  daughter  is  born  there  is 
less  rejoicing  theoretically,  but  in  real  life  a  baby  is  a  baby, 
and  dear  to  parents  and  grandparents,  whether  girl  or  boy. 


STATUS  OF  WOMAN 

The  Book  of  Odes,  however,  gives  a  very  lowly  place  to 
the  daughter  of  the  house.  A  poem  believed  to  have  been 
written  in  the  eighth  century  B.C.  contains  the  following 
lines  : 


He  then  shall  have  a  son 
To  sleep  upon  a  couch, 

To  wear  a  costly  dress 
And  play  with  toys  of  jade; 

Imperious,  too,  his  cry; 

His  pinafore  of  red;  The  house’s  lord  he’ll  be. 

A  daughter  too  he’ll  have 
To  sleep  upon  the  floor, 

A  napkin  for  her  gown, 

A  potsherd  for  her  toy. 

No  choice  is  hers  to  make 
Save  choose  the  food  and  drink 
And  spare  her  parents  pain.6 

In  theory  the  woman  is  inferior  to  the  man  and  sub¬ 
ject  to  the  three  obediences;  in  childhood  subject  to  her 
father  or  elder  brother,  in  marriage  to  her  husband,  in 
old  age  to  her  son.  But  in  practice,  women  in  China  are 
quite  as  influential  in  the  home  as  they  are  in  other  lands. 
Some  years  ago  in  company  with  a  friend,  I  was  traveling 
in  Central  China.  It  was  a  hot  summer’s  day,  and  at  noon 
when  we  reached  a  village  we  went  into  a  tea-house  to  rest 
and  have  luncheon.  The  villagers,  who  had  never  seen 
Europeans  before,  came  crowding  into  the  tea-house  until 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  move.  They  put  many  questions 
to  us;  what  were  our  “honorable  names”  and  “exalted 

0  Shih  King,  Minor  Odes,  v:18. 


82 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Women 


ages,  ’  ’  how  many  sons  had  we,  and  why  did  my  friend  wear 
brass  in  his  teeth.  At  last  one  man  said,  “In  your  honor¬ 
able  country  the  woman  is  the  head  of  the  family,  is  she 
not?”  My  friend  replied  that  it  depended  upon  circum¬ 
stances,  that,  if  the  woman  had  more  sense  than  the  man 
she  would  rule  the  house.  An  old  man  standing  by  who 
was  rather  deaf  leaned  over  the  table  with  his  mouth  open 
listening  to  the  conversation.  When  he  heard  this  state¬ 
ment  he  straightened  up  with  a  sigh  and  said,  “Well,  it’s 
just  the  same  in  our  unworthy  country.” 

The  most  disagreeable  feature  of  married  life  for  the 
women,  no  doubt,  is  that  custom  requires  the  wife  to  live 
with  her  parents-in-law  and  serve  them.  The  Book  of  Rites 
says  that  a  wife  should  serve  her  parents-in-law  as  she 
served  her  own  father  and  mother.  She  should  rise  at  cock¬ 
crow,  dress  herself,  and  then  visit  the  room  of  her  parents- 
in-law  and  ask  after  their  comfort,  assist  them  in  making 
their  toilet,  and  then  bring  them  their  breakfast. 

It  often  happens  that  the  life  of  the  young  bride  is  made 
very  unhappy  by  the  ill  temper  of  her  husband’s  parents, 
the  arbitrary  demands  they  make  upon  her,  and  by  the 
tyranny  of  her  sisters-in-law,  particularly  the  wives  of  her 
husband’s  elder  brothers,  who  outrank  her  in  the  home. 
ITer  chief  solace  lies  in  the  hope  of  some  day  becoming 
herself  a  mother-in-law. 


DIVORCE 

A  woman  may  not  seek  a  divorce  from  her  husband,  no 
matter  what  his  offenses  may  be,  but  a  man  can  divorce  his 
wife  for  any  one  of  nine  causes;  (1)  if  the  marriage  con¬ 
tract  contains  false  statements,  (2)  barrenness,  (3)  sensual¬ 
ity,  (4)  want  of  filial  piety,  (5)  loquacity,  (6)  jealousy, 
(7)  incurable  disease,  (8)  leaving  the  home  without  the 
husband’s  permission,  (9)  beating  her  husband.  Divorce 
may  also  take  place  by  mutual  consent.  If  she  were  un¬ 
faithful,  the  husband,  under  the  old  regime,  might  kill  both 
the  wife  and  her  paramour,  should  he  surprise  them  in 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  83 

flagrante  delicto.  If  the  husband  did  not  kill  her  he  could 
sell  her  as  a  concubine. 

Except  in  the  case  of  infidelity,  the  husband  cannot 
divorce  his  wife,  no  matter  what  her  faults,  if  she  shall  have 
kept  the  three  years’  mourning  for  the  husband’s  parents, 
or  if  her  husband  was  poor  at  the  time  of  marriage  and  has 
since  grown  rich.  The  divorced  woman  returns  to  her 
father’s  house  or,  if  that  should  be  impossible,  becomes  sui 
juris. 


IMPEDIMENTS  TO  MARRIAGE 

Besides  the  natural  disqualifications  for  marriage,  other 
recognized  impediments  are  insanity  or  other  disease,  deaf¬ 
ness  or  dumbness,  and  possession  of  the  same  surname. 
Having  the  surname  does  not  necessarily  prove  relationship, 
for  there  are  very  few  surnames  in  China,  but  the  possession 
of  the  same  name  is  regarded  as  proof  of  membership  in  the 
same  clan.  Marriage  with  cousins  of  a  different  surname 
is  not  forbidden  unless  they  be  of  a  generation  above  or 
below. 

Marriage  is  not  permitted  during  the  period  of  mourning. 
There  is  no  impediment  to  marriage  with  a  deceased  wife’s 
sister,  as  exists  in  some  Christian  countries,  but  marriage  of 
a  deceased  brother’s  widow,  allowable  among  many  peoples  7 
was  punishable  with  death  under  the  old  penal  code.8 


WIDOWS 

It  is  considered  bad  form  for  a  widow  to  marry  a  second 
time,  but  a  well-known  proverb  says,  “If  heaven  wants  to 
rain  or  your  mother  marry  again  you  can’t  prevent  it.” 


7  Compare  the  Jewish  Levirate,  Deut.  xxv:5.  The  Mongols  also 
practiced  it  in  Polo’s  time,  but  it  was  not  only  a  brother  who  could 
take  the  widow  of  a  deceased  brother;  the  son  also  could  take  his 
father’s  wives,  his  own  mother  excepted.  Cordier,  Marco  Polo,  Yol. 
1,  p.  253. 

8  Ta  Ch’ing  Lu  IA:  X:  Hu  Li  Hun  Yin — Marriage  with  a  Con¬ 
cubine  of  a  Relative. 


84  Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman 

Most  widows,  however,  prefer  to  remain  widows,  and  the 
number  of  honorary  portals  erected  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  have  been  thus  faithful  shows  in  what  esteem  the  prac¬ 
tice  is  held.  Some  girls  refuse  to  marry  if  their  affianced 
dies  before  marriage.  A  rather  remarkable  case  came  to 
my  knowledge  in  Peking.  The  daughter  of  a  Grand  Secre¬ 
tary  was  engaged  to  the  son  of  another  high  official.  The 
young  man  died  before  the  wedding  could  be  celebrated. 
The  young  lady  not  only  mourned  for  him  as  for  a  husband, 
but  refused  to  take  food  and,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  her 
family  to  prevent  it,  actually  starved  herself  to  death. 
Yet  she  was  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the  young  man, 
if  she  really  knew  him  at  all. 


WOMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTS 

The  women  of  China,  like  those  of  most  lands,  are  usually 
very  religious.  Although  they  participate  as  far  as  allowed 
in  the  worship  of  ancestors  they  do  not  find  in  these  services 
all  the  satisfaction  that  their  spiritual  nature  demands. 
Confucianism  is  essentially  a  man’s  religion.  Most  of  the 
women  turn  to  Buddhism,  especially  to  the  cult  of  Kwanyin, 
the  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Many  keep  images  in  their  homes, 
before  which  they  recite  their  beads.  They  observe  fast 
days,  and  upon  occasion  visit  the  temples  to  pray  or  make 
pilgrimages  to  famous  shrines. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that  some  young 
women  give  up  all  plans  for  marriage,  separate  from  their 
families,  shave  their  heads  and  put  on  the  grey  robes  of  the 
Buddhist  nun. 

Some  of  the  convents  are  endowed  with  small  pieces  of 
land,  which  supply  in  part  the  living  of  the  sisterhood,  and 
for  the  rest  they  depend  upon  the  charity  of  the  lay  wor¬ 
shipers  who  receive  instruction  from  them.  Some  main¬ 
tain  orphan  asylums  and  thus  provide  homes  for  abandoned 
children. 

As  a  rule  the  nuns  appear  to  be  sincere  and  devout. 
While  many  monks  are  found  who  are  victims  of  the  opium 


Marriage  and  the  Status  of  Woman  8 5 

habit  and  grosser  vices,  it  is  rarely  that  one  learns  of  an 
authenticated  case  of  opium  smoking  or  immoral  conduct 
in  the  convents. 

Chinese,  of  course,  have  their  tales  of  immoral  conduct, 
but  they  appear  to  be  born  of  a  prurient  imagination  rather 
than  founded  on  fact.  An  old  Chinese  proverb  says,  ‘  *  The 
door  of  the  monastery  always  opens  toward  the  convent.  ” 
A  rather  pretty  tale  is  that  of  a  monk  on  one  side  of  a 
mountain  valley  who  used  to  carry  water  from  a  spring  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  There  he  met  a  nun  who  came  from 
the  convent  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley.  As  they  met 
day  by  day  they  became  acquainted.  Acquaintance  ripened 
into  friendship  and  friendship  into  love,  so  that  one  day 
they  decided  to  leave  their  orders  and  return  to  the  world 
and  be  married.  A  well-known  bit  of  sculpture  represents 
the  monk  with  his  boots  in  his  teeth,  carrying  his  sweetheart 
nun  on  his  back  through  the  waters  of  a  river  that  had  to 
be  forded. 

Not  only  do  young  women  take  the  vows  of  Buddhist 
nuns,  but  many  widows  when  they  can  arrange  their  family 
affairs  so  as  to  permit  it,  renounce  the  world  and  enter  the 
cloister.  * 

During  my  residence  in  Nanking  there  was  living  in  a 
convent  near  the  West  Gate  the  widow  of  the  Taiping  rebel 
chieftain.  After  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  the 
suicide  of  her  husband  she  fled  to  the  convent  for  safety 
and  found  a  refuge  there  for  the  remainder  of  her  life. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  FARMER 

Give  careful  attention  to  farming  and  sericulture  that  there  may 
be  sufficient  food  and  clothing. — Sacred  Edict  of  K’anghsi. 

For  him  light  labor  spread  her  wholesome  store, 

Just  gave  what  life  required,  but  gave  no  more: 

His  best  companions,  innocence  and  health, 

And  his  best  riches,  ignorance  of  wealth. 

-  Goldsmith. 

Theoretically,  agriculture  is  held  in  high  honor  among 
the  Chinese.  Every  spring,  under  the  old  regime,  the 
Emperor  was  expected  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  Patron  Saint 
of  Agriculture  in  the  temple  at  Peking  dedicated  to  that 
worthy.  He  was  also  expected  to  guide  the  plow  with  his 
own  hands  until  he  had  turned  eight  furrows  in  the  Sacred 
Field.  This  he  did  to  show  to  the  whole  empire  his  respect 
for  the  farmer’s  calling,  upon  which  all  classes  depend  for 
food  and  raiment. 

In  every  county  town,  too,  the  local  officials  at  the 
appointed  season  used  to  repair  to  the  temple  of  the 
farmer’s  saint  for  the  observance  of  similar  ceremonies. 
The  sacrifices  offered  consisted  of  a  goat  or  a  bullock.  The 
great  K’anghsi,  in  his  Sacred  Edict,  urged  the  importance 
of  agriculture,  and  his  son,  Yungcheng,  in  his  amplification 
of  that  edict,  devoted  a  whole  chapter  to  the  encouragement 
of  husbandry,  exhorting  the  farmer  not  to  forsake  “the 
good  old  calling  for  the  multiplied  profits  of  commerce.” 
He  reminded  them  that  in  the  olden  time  emperors,  them¬ 
selves,  plowed  the  fields  and  that  empresses  reared  the  silk 
worm. 

THE  FARMER’S  PATRON  SAINT 

Mencius  points  out  that  Shun,  the  mythical  emperor  who 
is  supposed  to  have  reigned  about  2255  B.C.,  rose  from 

86 


The  Farmer 


87 


among  the  channeled  fields  to  the  control  of  the  empire. 
An  earlier  emperor,  Shennung,  is  deified  and  worshiped 
as  the  first  teacher  of  agriculture.  Not  far  from  the 
author’s  home  in  China  there  was  a  temple  dedicated  to 
the  <  1  Three  Emperors.  ’  ’  These  three  famous  worthies  were 
Fuhsi,  Shennung  and  Huang  Ti,  all  mythical  personages, 
supposed  to  have  reigned  from  2852  to  2597  B.C.  The 
temple  was  very  commonplace  in  appearance,  but  one  of  the 
images  in  the  main  hall  was  rather  remarkable.  It  was 
that  of  a  primitive  man.  His  only  article  of  apparel  was 
an  apron  of  leaves.  This  was  reputed  to  be  an  image  of 
Shennung.  He  is  said  to  have  been  conceived  miraculously 
and  born  of  a  virgin  Princess.  To-day  he  is  honored  by  the 
Chinese  as  the  Patron  of  Agriculture.  All  this  is  in  keeping 
with  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  are  essentially  an  agricultural 
people.  They  divide  mankind  into  four  classes,  as  is  indi¬ 
cated  by  a  common  phrase  in  constant  use,  which  runs 
‘ ‘Scholars,  farmers,  mechanics,  merchants.”  An  old  prov¬ 
erb,  however,  gives  the  first  place,  not  to  the  scholar  but 
to  the  farmer,  ‘  ‘  First  the  farmer,  the  scholar  second.  ’ 7  But, 
notwithstanding  the  high  esteem  in  which  their  calling  is 
theoretically  held,  the  farmers  are  in  reality,  perhaps,  the 
least  prosperous  class  in  the  country. 


POVERTY  OF  THE  PEASANTS 


f 

j 


I  remember  riding  late  one  autumn  over  the  old  highway 
which  was  built  by  Hungwu  from  Nanking  to  Fengyang. 
We  were  some  forty  miles  beyond  Nanking,  approaching  a 
low  range  of  mountains  known  as  the  Kwan  Shan.  My 
attention  was  directed  to  a  number  of  people  whom  we 
passed,  each  carrying  a  bundle  of  clothes  and  trudging 
homeward  from  the  neighboring  city  of  Ch’uchou.  The 
sight  of  a  traveler  with  his  clothes  tied  up  in  a  bundle  and 
carried  over  his  shoulder  is  not  a  rare  one.  But  these 
country  people,  as  I  learned  to  my  surprise,  were  carrying 
their  clothes  home  from  the  pawn-shops,  where  they  had 
been  deposited  earlier  in  the  year  to  raise  money  for  the 


88 


The  Farmer 


purchase  of  seed  for  the  spring  planting.  They  had  had  a 
bad  season  the  previous  year,  followed  by  a  hard  winter, 
and  had  exhausted  their  resources.  This  year  they  had 
had  better  fortune  and  so  were  able  to  recover  their  winter 
garments  before  the  cold  weather  set  in.  This  custom  of 
depositing  clothes  with  the  pawn-shops  is  not,  however,  an 
uncommon  one,  either  in  country  or  city.  Furs  and  silks 
are  stored  in  them  during  the  hot  season  and  receive  much 
better  care  than  they  would  otherwise  obtain.  Valuable 
goods  are  thus  preserved,  too,  against  destruction  by  fire  or 
loss  by  burglary.  So  extensive  and  important,  indeed,  is 
this  business  that  in  some  parts  of  China  the  prosperity  of 
the  city  is  measured  by  the  number  of  its  pawn-shops.  For 
the  common  people  they  serve  as  banks.  The  peasants 
whom  we  passed  upon  the  highway  had  no  valuable  furs  or 
silks  to  deposit,  and  were  carrying  simply  their  ordinary 
winter  wadded  clothing.  Each  had  raised  a  small  loan  upon 
which  he  had  paid  interest  at  the  exorbitant  rate  of  2  per 
cent  a  month.  One  could  only  shudder  at  the  thought  of 
the  possible  consequences  had  there  been  another  bad  har¬ 
vest.  This  incident  revealed  in  a  very  startling  manner 
the  true  condition  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  that  region, 
and  helped  one  to  understand  how  easily  the  failure  of  a 
single  harvest  might  precipitate  wide-spread  distress.  It 
serves,  too,  to  explain  in  a  measure  how  it  is  that  in  a 
country  of  such  splendid  natural  resources  a  careful  and 
experienced  observer  could  estimate  that  three  millions  of 
people  die  annually  in  China  from  lack  of  proper  sus¬ 
tenance. 

THE  COUNTRY  VILLAGE 

The  farmer,  as  a  rule,  lives  with  his  neighbors  in  a  little 
village.  Karely  does  one  see  a  farm-house  by  itself.  Life 
and  property  are  more  safe  where  neighbors  congregate. 
The  Chinese  are  a  sociable  people,  and  enjoy  the  opportuni¬ 
ties  given  in  village  life  for  gossip  with  one  another.  There 
is  advantage  for  the  children,  too,  who  are  enabled  to  attend 
the  village  school  which  is  made  possible  by  this  combina- 


The  Farmer 


89 


tion  of  families.  The  school  is  often  held  in  the  temple 
which  has  been  erected  by  self-levied  taxes  for  the  worship 
of  some  local  deity  and  as  a  shelter  for  the  ancestral  tablets. 

These  farm  villages  are  often  composed  almost  wholly 
of  members  of  one  family,  descendants  of  a  common  an¬ 
cestor,  in  which  case  the  village  usually  bears  the  family 
name,  as  the  ‘  ‘  Wang-Family-Village,  ”  or  the  “Li-Family- 
Village,”  a  custom  which  recalls  the  similar  one  among  our 
own  ancestors,  who  left  their  names  upon  the  hamlets  and 
towns  of  England,  its  “wicks,”  “hams,”  “tuns”  and 
“steads,”  as  Greene  has  pointed  out.  Thus  we  have  such 
place  names  as  “Kes-wick,”  “ Green-wich, ”  “Bucking¬ 
ham,  ”  “  Harring-ton,  ’ ’  and  1  ‘  Hamp-stead,  ’  ’  in  all  of  which 
the  suffix  carries  the  general  meaning  of  “Village,”  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  Chinese  tien,  tun,  hsiang,  ts’un  and  chuang, 
also  used  as  suffixes  in  such  combinations  as  those  given 
above. 

The  writer  had  occasion  one  summer  day,  in  company 
with  a  friend,  to  visit  a  typical  farm  village  among  the  hills 
south-east  of  Nanking.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when 
we  turned  from  the  highway,  or  what  passed  for  such,  into 
a  narrow  path  that  led  up  a  rather  lonely  valley.  After 
winding  about  for  a  mile  or  more,  we  came  upon  a  little 
hamlet  of  five  or  six  hundred  people,  known  as  She-ts’un, 
or  the  “She  Village.”  It  was  harvest  time  and  nearly  all 
the  able-bodied  men  and  women  were  busy  in  the  surround¬ 
ing  fields,  cutting  the  wheat  with  rude  sickles,  or  more 
properly,  bill-hooks.  Our  advent  took  the  old  women  and 
children  by  surprise,  and  the  latter  fled  from  us  in  fright. 
It  was  some  time  before  we  could  find  anyone  who  would 
dare  to  talk  with  “foreign  devils,”  but  presently  Mr.  She, 
himself,  the  head  of  the  clan  and  the  chief  man  of  the 
village,  heard  of  our  predicament  and  came  to  our  assist¬ 
ance.  He  was  an  educated  gentleman,  some  forty  years  of 
age,  and  showed  himself  exceedingly  polite.  His  dress  and 
manners  indicated  that  he  was  no  farmer,  though  he  lived 
among  farmers.  His  soft  white  hands  had  probably  never 
done  a  stroke  of  manual  labor  in  his  life.  He  was  indeed 
the  village  school-master  as  well  as  the  principal  land-owner 


90 


The  Farmer 


of  the  district.  He  led  us  to  the  village  temple,  which 
served  as  a  shelter  not  only  for  gods  but  for  guests,  though 
the  latter  were  certainly  few  and  far  between.  We  were 
soon  made  very  comfortable  except  for  the  multitude  of 
fleas  and  mosquitoes.  There  was  no  monk  in  charge,  for 
it  was  not  a  Buddhist  or  Taoist  temple,  but  the  old  man 
who  served  as  sexton  soon  came  in,  and  proved  to  be  as 
interesting  as  he  was  loquacious,  which  is  saying  a  great 
deal.  He  had  no  vegetarian  vows  or  Buddhist  prejudices 
to  interfere  with  his  preparation  of  a  fine  dinner  of  fresh 
pork  and  other  dainties,  to  which,  with  our  hungry  stom¬ 
achs,  we  did  full  justice.  When  the  meal  was  over,  Mr. 
She  came  in  with  other  villagers,  and  we  chatted  with  them 
far  into  the  night.  The  next  day  we  had  an  opportunity  of 
inspecting  the  place  more  carefully.  Mr.  She  invited  us  to 
his  home,  an  extensive  pile  of  buildings  constructed  of  brick, 
and  consisting  of  the  usual  succession  of  halls  and  courts. 
There  was  an  air  of  comfort  and  ease  about  the  place.  It 
was  well  furnished,  and  the  crowd  of  women,  children  and 
servants  that  came  in  to  stare  at  us  indicated  that  there 
was  no  waste  room.  The  family  of  Mr.  She’s  younger 
brother  shared  the  home,  according  to  Chinese  custom.  We 
found  the  village  school  in  session  in  the  guest -hall.  Our 
host  had  traveled  considerably  in  central  China  and  had 
lived  for  a  time  in  Hankow,  where  he  had  met  many 
Europeans  and  had  lost  many  of  his  prejudices.  Yet  he 
seemed  quite  contented  in  the  village  home,  and  well  he 
might  be ;  he  lived  as  a  lord  of  the  manor  might  have  lived 
among  his  retainers  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe.  Most 
of  the  villagers  were  his  tenants.  Their  homes,  too,  were 
well-built  houses  of  brick  with  tile  roofs.  The  lanes  that 
wound  among  them,  however,  were  narrow  and  crooked. 
There  were  no  shops  in  the  place,  but  one  of  the  farmers 
acted  as  butcher,  when  needed,  and  sold  meat  and  a  few 
other  necessaries  to  his  neighbors.  On  the  whole  the  people 
seemed  well  fed  and  clothed,  contented  and  happy.  As  a 
rule,  however,  the  tenant  farmers  in  the  region  about 
Nanking  do  not  appear  to  be  so  comfortable  or  prosperous 
as  those  in  She-ts’un.  The  country  has  never  entirely  re- 


The  Farmer 


91 


covered  from  the  ravages  of  the  Taiping  Rebellion,  and  this 
fact  in  some  measure  accounts  for  the  unsightly  appearance 
of  many  of  the  villages  in  central  China.  But  in  northern 
Kiangsu,  there  are  large  districts  that  were  never  visited  by 
the  armies,  and  many  of  the  villages  and  farmsteads  in  that 
region  present  a  very  prosperous  appearance.  The  houses 
are  in  good  repair,  the  ancient  temples  are  well  preserved, 
and  there  is  the  grateful  sight  here  and  there  of  broad¬ 
spreading  shade  trees.  The  soil  for  the  most  part  is  very 
rich  and  the  numerous  canals,  which  the  low  level  of  the 
land  makes  possible,  afford  an  easy  means  of  communication 
which  is  wanting  in  many  parts  of  China. 


A  MODEL  FARM 

In  this  region  one  sees  not  a  few  isolated  farm-houses. 
While  traveling  through  the  district  in  a  Chinese  house¬ 
boat  the  writer  was  invited  to  visit  the  home  of  a  Mr.  Liu, 
a  wealthy  farmer  who  owned  some  two  hundred  English 
acres,  an  unusually  large  holding  for  the  Chinese.  The 
buildings  of  the  farmstead  were  arranged  around  a  large 
court,  some  seventy-five  feet  long  by  about  sixty  feet  wide. 
They  were  all  of  brick  and  apparently  much  more  substan¬ 
tial  than  the  ordinary  Chinese  structure.  The  roofs  were 
partly  of  tile  and  partly  of  neatly  trimmed  thatch.  A  fine 
garden,  containing  box  and  orange  trees,  was  surrounded 
by  an  ornamental  wall,  the  upper  part  of  which  was  made 
of  open  work  in  green  glazed  tile.  The  stables  were  a 
pattern  of  neatness  and  the  horses,  mules  and  buffaloes  were 
sleek  and  well  fed.  There  was  a  large  granary  stored  with 
wheat  and  containing  effective  machinery  of  good  native 
workmanship  for  threshing,  fanning  and  grinding.  These 
machines  were  worked  by  mule  power.  The  fields  were 
irrigated  by  the  usual  Chinese  pump,  an  endless  chain  of 
square  wooden  paddles  working  in  a  box  trough,  through 
which  the  water  was  drawn  from  the  canal  up  into  the  irri¬ 
gating  ditches.  Power  was  supplied  by  a  good-natured, 
lazy  looking  buffalo,  blindfolded  and  tramping  round 


92 


The  Farmer 


and  round  in  a  picturesque  thatched  shelter-house,  thus 
turning  a  large  horizontal  wheel  whose  wooden  cogs  fitted 
into  those  on  the  shaft  of  the  pump.  The  fertile  fields 
produced  abundant  harvests  of  wheat,  barley,  cotton,  and 
rice.  There  was  some  silk  culture  in  the  neighborhood  but 
conducted  on  a  small  scale  only.  Mr.  Liu  was  blessed  with 
a  large  family  and  gave  employment  to  a  great  many 
servants,  male  and  female.  On  the  whole  it  was  a  very 
attractive  home.  The  great  mansion,  embowered  in  trees 
and  dominating  the  broad  acres  of  the  smiling  plain,  the 
patriarchal  character  of  the  household  and  its  easy-going 
manners,  the  contentment  expressed  in  the  very  faces  of  the 
dumb  brutes,  and  the  restful  picture  of  abundance  and 
health,  all  contributed  to  make  a  very  pleasant  impression, 
which  was  only  heightened  by  the  involuntary  recollection 
of  less  happy  scenes  to  be  witnessed  in  neighboring  districts. 
Not  far  away  a  quiet  grove  of  pines,  surrounded  by  a  strong 
wall,  gave  shelter  to  the  family  graves,  amidst  which  rose 
the  ancestral  temple.  There  at  the  prescribed  seasons  sacri¬ 
fices  were  offered  to  the  spirits  of  the  departed. 


LAND  TENURE 

In  this  part  of  Kiangsu  Province,  that  is,  north  of  the 
Yangtze  River,  there  are  many  large  estates.  One  family, 
it  is  said,  owns  400,000  mou,  i.e.,  66,666  acres;  another 
300,000  mou  and  others  still  possess  from  40,000  to 
70,000  mou .  There  are  some  temples  in  the  same  region 
which  own  from  3000  to  5000  mou.  In  this  district,  there¬ 
fore,  tenant  farmers  outnumber  those  who  cultivate  their 
own  land.  From  seventy  to  eighty  per  cent,  it  is  estimated, 
are  renters.  In  the  southern  half  of  the  province  just  the 
opposite  conditions  prevail.  There,  we  are  assured,  nine- 
tenths  own  the  land  that  they  cultivate.  These  figures  are 
taken  from  the  report  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society  on  “Land  Tenure  in  China  and  the  Condi¬ 
tion  of  the  Rural  Population.  ’  ’ 1 

i  Journal  of  the  China  Branch,  R.  A.  S.,  1888,  vol.  xxiii,  pp.  59-143. 


The  Farmer 


93 


Easy  access  to  land  promotes  independence  and  the  divi¬ 
sion  of  land  into  small  holdings  favors  social  equality. 
Large  holdings,  on  the  other  hand,  with  dependent  tenantry 
promote  class  distinctions  and  political  dependence.  The 
difference  between  north  and  south  China  in  regard  to  land 
tenure  and  the  size  of  holdings  has  no  doubt  had  much  to  do 
with  the  difference  between  them  in  political  ideals,  for 
democratic  sentiment  is  much  stronger  in  the  south  than  in 
the  north. 

From  the  report  just  mentioned  we  learn  that  there  are 
many  farms  of  one  hundred  acres  and  not  a  few  of  two 
hundred  in  Manchuria.  A  smaller  number  will  be  found 
containing  as  much  as  five  hundred.  In  the  provinces  of 
Chihli  and  Shantung,  in  north  China,  there  are  farms  con¬ 
taining  10,000  mou.  But,  taking  China  as  a  whole,  large 
holdings  are  rare.  The  average  for  Chihli  Province  is 
given  by  Rev.  Timothy  Richard  as  eighty  mou,  i.e.,  12.12 
acres.  The  same  authority  gives  thirty  mou  as  the  average 
for  Shantung.2  The  late  E.  L.  Oxenham,  Esq.,  while 
serving  as  British  Consul  at  Chinkiang,  gave  the  average 
for  the  rich  province  of  Kiangsu  as  twenty  mou.  Further 
inland  the  holdings  are  still  smaller.  So  far  as  the  above- 
mentioned  report  shows,  the  majority  of  the  farmers  of 
China  cultivate  their  own  land.  One  of  the  most  noted 
exceptions  to  this  general  rule  of  farmers  cultivating  their 
own  land  is  found  in  the  populous  region  about  Swatow, 
where  three-fourths  of  the  farmers  are  tenants.  In  Chihli 
the  proportion  of  those  owing  their  farms  is  given  as 
seventy  per  cent,  in  Shantung  as  sixty  per  cent,  in  Hupeh 
thirty,  and  in  the  north-western  provinces  generally  about 
seventy.  From  such  figures  one  is  rather  led  to  expect  a 
very  prosperous  condition  among  the  peasantry,  but  the 
real  situation  is  quite  disappointing.  So  far  as  my  own 
observation  goes,  the  ordinary  farm-house  in  central  and 
northern  China  is  but  a  rude  hovel  of  beaten  earth,  thatched 
with  straw.  The  living  room  is  also  the  granary.  A  cheap 
table,  two  or  three  trestles  for  seats,  the  baby’s  cradle  and 
the  agricultural  implements  make  up  most  of  the  furniture. 

2  Ibid. 


94 


The  Farmer 


In  the  cotton-raising  districts  there  may  be  also  a  rude 
spinning  wheel  and  a  loom,  or,  if  the  family  be  engaged  in 
silk-culture,  there  will  be  the  simple  machinery  used  in  pre¬ 
paring  the  silk  for  the  market.  Cleanliness  is  unknown. 
Pigs  and  fowls  run  in  and  out  of  the  house  at  will,  and  a 
donkey  or  water-buffalo  may  be  tethered  in  the  lean-to  ad¬ 
joining  it. 

TAXATION 

The  lack  of  prosperity  can  not  be  charged  altogether 
to  the  land  tax,  for  although  higher  as  a  rule  than 
we  are  accustomed  to  in  the  United  States,  it  is  not  enough 
of  itself  to  discourage  agriculture.  It  has  been  estimated  as 
averaging  for  all  China  about  one-twentieth  or  one-thirtieth 
of  the  gross  produce.  When  the  Manchu  Dynasty  obtained 
control  of  the  empire,  a  solemn  promise  was  given  that  the 
land  tax  should  not  be  increased.  It  is  levied  partly  in 
money  and  partly  in  kind,  but  the  grain  tax  is  commuted 
for  a  payment  in  money.  It  varies  greatly  in  different  dis¬ 
tricts  and  bears  no  definite  relation  to  the  value  of  the  land, 
although  it  is  less  on  poor  land  than  it  is  on  the  fertile.  It 
is  sometimes  said  that  the  system  is  that  advocated  by 
Henry  George,  but  this  is  a  serious  blunder.  George  pro¬ 
posed  to  abolish  all  other  taxes  except  that  on  land,  which 
was  to  be  levied  on  all  kinds  of  land  according  to  its  rental 
value.  The  Chinese  tax  is  levied  only  on  land  listed  as 
agricultural,  and  the  most  valuable  of  all,  city  land,  is  not 
taxed  at  all,  except  where,  by  the  growth  of  a  city,  land 
anciently  listed  as  agricultural  has  become  encroached 
upon,  for  “once  taxed,  always  taxed,”  is  the  rule  in  this 
conservative  country.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Shang¬ 
hai  an  acre  of  land,  still  used  for  farming  purposes,  paid 
$5.00  Mex.,  i.e.,  about  $2.50  U.S.,  per  annum  a  few  years 
ago.  This  acre  was  then  worth  $600.00  U.S.  Rev.  John 
Ross,  in  1887,  reported  the  tax  in  Manchuria  as  about  one 
shilling  per  acre,  the  land  being  worth  about  $150.00  Mex., 
or  $75.00  U.S.  per  acre.  In  Shantung  it  is  said  to  average 
$0,205  U.S.  per  acre,  and  in  Chihli  $0.21  to  $1.66  per  acre. 


The  Farmer 


95 


But  in  reality  the  land  tax  in  Chihli  varies  from  $0,032 
to  $0.51  an  acre  in  silver,  plus  a  grain  tax  which  varies  from 
1.09  quarts  to  1.36  pecks  of  rice,  and  from  1.07  quarts  to 
4.37  quarts  of  beans  per  acre.  Mulberry  orchards  are  taxed 
$0,007  an  acre. 

In  calculating  the  value  of  the  grain  tax  in  money  the 
collector  does  not  consider  the  market  price;  the  reduction 
is  made  at  an  artificial  rate  fixed  by  statute.  A  few  years 
ago  this  was  estimated  to  be  about  $0,155  a  bushel,  whereas 
the  actual  value  of  the  grain  would  be  about  a  dollar  a 
bushel. 

We  must  not  think,  however,  that  the  farmer  really  com¬ 
mutes  the  grain  tax  at  the  rate  stipulated  in  the  statute. 
Both  the  money  tax  and  the  grain  tax  are  calculated  in  taels 
of  silver,  but  a  tael  is  merely  a  Chinese  ounce ;  there  is  no 
such  coin,  and  this  must  be  reduced  to  its  equivalent  in 
copper  cash,  the  money  of  the  people,  or,  in  many  places 
to-day,  to  its  value  in  copper  cents.  The  number  of  cents  in 
a  tael  varies  from  day  to  day,  but  the  tax  collector  does  not 
make  the  exchange  at  the  market  rate ;  he  makes  it  at  a  rate 
more  favorable  to  the  government.  Formerly  in  addition 
he  would  demand  certain  fees,  such  as  meltage,  expense  of 
collection  and  other  such  charges,  originally  irregular  but 
legalized  by  long  usage.  To-day  the  taxes  are  converted  at 
a  fixed  rate  of  $2.30  (Chinese  silver)  to  the  tael. 

The  grain  tax,  moreover,  is  manipulated  to  the  advantage 
of  the  collector  by  being  calculated  by  weight,  although 
levied  in  measures  of  capacity,  and  the  difference  between 
local  and  official  standards  of  weights  and  measures  makes 
it  easy  to  increase  the  revenue. 

Thus  it  happens  that,  although  the  land  tax  was  definitely 
fixed  by  the  Manchus  in  1713  at  a  rate  not  to  be  changed, 
yet  by  the  manipulation  of  exchange  and  the  other  practices 
mentioned,  the  sum  actually  paid  now  by  the  farmer  in 
copper  money  is  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  was  paid 
then.  A  tael  of  silver  paid  in  taxes  in  1713  meant,  more¬ 
over,  a  great  deal  more  to  the  peasant  than  it  does  to-day. 

The  general  lack  of  prosperity  among  the  agricultural 
classes  cannot  be  charged,  therefore,  entirely  to  heavy  taxa- 


96 


The  Farmer 


tion  of  the  land  nor  to  high  rents,  but  rather  to  the  more 
important  fact  that  the  farmer  gets  almost  nothing  in 
return  for  his  taxes.  He  is  dependent  almost  entirely  upon 
himself  and  his  neighbors  for  the  protection  of  his  property, 
and  there  are  no  roads  for  the  transportation  of  his  produce 
to  market.  In  central  China,  except  in  those  fortunate  dis¬ 
tricts  where  there  are  water-ways,  nearly  all  farm  products 
are  carried  to  town  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  farmer  him¬ 
self.  Sometimes  the  wheel-barrow  or  the  pack  donkey  is 
called  into  service.  In  the  north  and  in  some  parts  of  the 
west  there  are  rude  carts,  but  it  makes  one’s  heart  ache  to 
see  the  dumb  brutes  straining  to  draw  their  heavy  loads 
through  dust  or  mire  in  which  the  wheels  sink  to  the  hub. 
In  addition  to  these  drawbacks  there  are  the  heavy  likin 
duties  to  be  paid  at  many  barriers  and  the  octroi  duties  at 
every  city  gate.  Returning  to  his  home,  the  farmer  must 
pay  duties  again  on  all  that  he  brings  from  the  city.  There 
is  thus  but  little  inducement  to  trade,  and  what  trade  there 
is  is  driven  to  seek  roundabout  ways  to  avoid  more  or  less  of 
the  taxation. 


METHODS  OF  CULTIVATION 

Millenniums  of  experience  have  taught  the  Chinese 
farmer  many  valuable  lessons  in  agriculture.  His  farm  is 
very  carefully  tilled.  His  fields  are  divided  into  narrow 
beds,  affording  a  certain  amount  of  surface  drainage. 
Wheat  is  sown  in  rows  and  carefully  hoed;  the  rice  is  set 
out  by  hand  in  the  flooded  fields  whose  soil  has  first  been 
thoroughly  prepared.  On  hill-sides  these  rice  fields  are 
terraced,  and  water,  admitted  from  above,  is  allowed  to 
run  slowly  from  one  terrace  to  the  next  below.  It  is  a 
strange  sight  to  behold  men  and  women  wading  in  mire 
above  their  knees  setting  out  the  young  shoots,  which  they 
do  very  deftly  and  regularly.  Rain  does  not  stop  the  work ; 
a  thatched  coat  of  straw,  which  gives  the  wearer  a  very 
picturesque  appearance,  affords  all  the  protection  needed. 
On  the  plains  water  is  pumped  into  the  fields  from  canals 
or  rivers,  sometimes  by  buffalo  power,  as  described  above, 


The  Farmer 


97 


but  very  often  by  human  labor.  In  the  latter  case  three 
or  four  women  or  as  many  men  work  at  one  pump.  Lean¬ 
ing  on  a  stout  rail  -for  support  they  turn  the  pump  with 
their  feet,  and,  keeping  time  with  a  lively  song  or  a  noisy 
gong,  they  make  a  very  cheerful  picture.  Great  attention 
is  given  to  fertilizing,  and  in  this  the  Chinese  are  perhaps 
wiser  than  many  Western  farmers.  No  night-soil  is  allowed 
to  drain  away  into  the  creeks  and  rivers  to  poison  the  drink¬ 
ing  water,  but  is  carefully  preserved,  both  in  city  and 
country,  and  carried  daily  to  the  farms  where,  after  proper 
decomposition,  it  is  scattered  over  the  fields.  The  complaint 
of  waste  which  Victor  Hugo  makes  against  the  Parisians  in 
Les  Miserahles  can  not  be  applied  to  the  Chinese.  It  must 
be  admitted,  however,  that,  no  matter  how  praiseworthy  in 
this  respect  their  economy  may  be,  the  result  will  perhaps 
appear  to  the  Western  man  as  hardly  compensating  for  the 
daily  pollution  of  the  air,  so  utterly  at  variance  with  all 
the  associations  of  beauty  and  healthfulness  which  the 
thought  of  the  country-side  brings  to  his  mind. 

Gardens  are  kept  in  use  all  the  year  round  in  the  latitude 
of  Shanghai  and  further  south.  Even  farm  lands  often 
bear  three  crops  a  year,  yet  the  soil  is  not  exhausted.  The 
Chinese  understand  in  a  measure  the  need  for  a  rotation  of 
crops,  but  there  is  of  course  no  really  scientific  farming,  as, 
indeed,  there  can  not  be  where  science  is  a  thing  unknown. 
Proper  care  is  not  taken  in  the  selection  of  seed  and  there 
is  therefore  a  constant  tendency  to  degenerate.  Wheat  is 
often  troubled  with  fungus  growths,  and  there  is  said  to  be 
considerable  suffering  from  ergotism  on  this  account  in  the 
north,  where  wheat  is  eaten  more  commonly  than  rice. 


PRODUCTS 

Fruits  are  grown  in  great  variety,  as  would  be  expected 
in  a  land  of  such  widely  varying  soil  and  climate.  There  is, 
however,  much  room  for  improvement  in  quality.  No 
proper  effort  is  made  to  protect  the  fruit  from  injury  by 
insects.  American  fruit  trees  have  been  introduced  into 


98 


The  Farmer 


Shantung  and  some  other  provinces,  but  it  is  very  difficult 
to  induce  the  Chinese  to  take  care  of  them  or  to  refrain 
from  pulling  the  fruit  before  it  is  ripe,  according  to  their 
old-time  custom.  Among  the  many  kinds  of  fruit  to  be 
found  are  oranges,  lemons,  bananas,  pineapples,  pumeloes, 
mangoes  and  lichis  in  the  south,  while  further  north  there 
are  loquats,  plums,  apricots,  peaches,  pears,  apples,  cherries, 
grapes,  pomegranates,  persimmons  and  others.  Among  the 
fruit  trees  none  perhaps  is  more  highly  esteemed  by  the 
Chinese  than  the  peach,  whose  beautiful  blossoms  symbolize 
the  bride,  as  orange  blossoms  do  with  us,  and  whose  fruit  is 
the  emblem  of  immortality.  There  are  many  legends  con¬ 
nected  with  it,  and  its  twigs  are  supposed  to  possess  magical 
powers.  It  is  the  flat  peach,  more  particularly,  that  is 
identified  with  the  fruit  of  the  4  *  Fairy  Peach  Tree,  ’  ’  grow¬ 
ing  in  the  garden  of  the  Fairy  Queen  on  the  Kunlun  Moun¬ 
tains,  of  which,  if  a  man  eat,  he  shall  live  forever.  Many 
peach  trees  are  cultivated  for  the  blossoms  only.  They  are 
in  great  demand  during  the  season,  and  the  road  from 
Shanghai  to  the  Lunghua  Pagoda  at  such  times  is  crowded 
with  carriages,  jinrickshas  and  wheel-barrows,  carrying 
pleasure-seekers  into  the  country  to  see  the  peach  orchards. 

Of  field  crops  the  most  important  are  rice,  tea,  cotton, 
beans,  rape,  millet,  sesamum,  tobacco,  ginger,  indigo,  hemp, 
wheat,  maize,  buckwheat,  peanuts,  and  formerly  the  poppy. 
The  last-mentioned  is  still  grown  in  some  places  in  spite  of 
laws  to  the  contrary.  The  cotton  plant  appears  to  have 
been  introduced  into  China  about  A.D.  1000, 3  though  cotton 
cloth  was  known  much  earlier  through  intercourse  with 
central  and  western  Asia.  The  cultivation  of  the  plant, 
however,  did  not  spread  rapidly,  owing  to  the  opposition  of 
the  silk  growers.  But  in  time  silk  and  linen  had  to  give  way 
and  cotton  became,  as  it  remains  to-day,  the  most  common 
material  for  clothing.  Its  cheapness  made  it  particularly 
acceptable  to  the  poorer  classes.  The  supply  of  home- 

3  Journal  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Boyal  Asiatic  Society,  New 
Series,  Vol.  XXV,  No.  1,  containing  E.  Bretschneider ’s  “Botanicon 
Sinicum, ”  under  388,  note  referring  to  W.  F.  Mayer’s  “Notes  and 
Queries  on  China  and  Japan.” 


The  Farmer 


99 


grown  cotton,  however,  is  not  now  equal  to  the  demand. 
It  was  not  without  reason  that  the  silk  growers  feared  the 
introduction  of  cotton,  for,  as  a  result,  the  silk  industry 
declined  for  a  long  period  and  nearly  disappeared.  It  was 
not  until  the  development  of  trade  with  Europe  had  created 
a  demand  in  that  quarter  for  these  rich  fabrics  that  the 
industry  revived. 

Cotton  is  grown  in  small  patches  only ;  there  are  no  large 
plantations.  In  many  cases  it  is  picked,  ginned,  spun  and 
woven  by  the  growers,  being  raised  simply  for  the  use  of 
the  family.  The  plant  is  small,  however,  and  the  staple 
short.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  improve  the  quality  by  the 
introduction  of  American  seed. 

Silk  culture  is  common  to  all  the  provinces.  The  silks, 
satins  and  velvets  of  Hangchow,  Soochow  and  Nanking  are 
particularly  in  demand,  and  formerly  factories  were  main¬ 
tained  in  these  cities  for  the  express  purpose  of  manufac¬ 
turing  these  goods  for  the  Imperial  Court.  As  one  travels 
on  the  canals  of  Kiangsu  Province  and  through  the  northern 
part  of  Chekiang,  he  sees  everywhere  along  the  banks  ex¬ 
tensive  orchards  of  mulberry  trees.  They  appear  stunted, 
which  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  kept  constantly 
pruned.  The  tree  is  usually  the  wild  mulberry  improved 
by  a  graft  of  the  cultivated  variety.  Careful  attention  to 
the  trees  is  necessary  to  secure  a  good  quality  of  silk.  The 
leaves  are  not  picked  until  the  fifth  year,  after  which  they 
are  gathered  regularly.  The  longest  dived  trees  are  said  to 
reach  the  age  of  fifty  years. 


SERICULTURE 

In  southern  Kiangsu  a  large  part  of  the  farmers  are 
engaged  in  silk  culture.  Every  spring  they  purchase  a 
supply  of  eggs,  hatch  and  rear  the  worms,  and  either  have 
the  silk  reeled  at  home  or,  as  is  often  done  since  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  steam  filatures,  sell  the  cocoons  to  these  estab¬ 
lishments.  There  is  a  noticeable  difference  between  the 
cocoons  of  the  male  and  the  female,  and  as  soon  as  the 


100 


The  Farmer 


moths  make  their  escape  the  Chinese  take  them  in  charge 
and  pair  them.  Their  life  is  very  brief.  The  female  lives 
but  five  or  six  days,  takes  no  food  but  lays  innumerable 
eggs.  These  are  secured  by  confining  her  on  a  piece  of 
paper  or  cloth  under  a  sieve.  A  sheet  of  paper  a  foot 
square,  covered  with  eggs,  sells  in  the  interior  for  some  two 
hundred  cash,  i.e.,  about  fifteen  cents.  The  women  often 
carry  the  eggs  on  their  persons,  the  warmth  of  the  body 
serving  to  hasten  the  process  of  hatching.  When  the  worms 
first  appear  they  look  like  small  black  ants,  and  are  called 
ants,  indeed.  After  two  days  they  turn  to  a  brown  color 
and  in  five  to  a  yellowish  white.  The  worms  are  kept  in 
shallow  trays  and  are  fed  at  first  on  chopped  mulberry 
leaves.  After  a  few  days  the  chopping  is  unnecessary. 
Great  care  is  needed  in  feeding  them;  it  must  not  be 
neglected  even  at  night.  It  gives  one  an  uncanny  feeling 
in  the  quiet  hours  to  hear  the  clicking  sound  which  they 
make  as  they  devour  their  food.  Throughout  the  whole 
period  of  their  growth  the  Chinese  insist  on  keeping  the 
house  very  quiet.  Strangers  are  unwelcome,  lest  some 
unusual  sight  or  sound  should  cause  the  worms  to  intermit 
their  feeding.  Four  times  during  their  brief  life  they  molt 
their  skin.  The  first  occasion  is  on  the  fifth  day.  The 
worm  erects  itself  and  falls  asleep.  For  two  days  it  remains 
in  a  state  of  stupor,  and  shuffles  off  its  skin,  after  which  it 
arouses  itself  and  continues  its  feeding.  In  another  five 
days  it  is  prepared  for  its  second  moulting,  and  thus  it  con¬ 
tinues,  alternately  eating  and  moulting  at  regular  intervals 
until  it  has  completed  its  fourth  change  of  skin.  Then  it  is 
removed  to  a  small  sheaf  of  cut  straw  where  it  proceeds  to 
spin  its  cocoon,  a  process  which  occupies  another  five  days. 
When  it  has  thus  wrapped  itself  in  its  silken  robes,  it  falls 
into  the  long  sleep,  from  which,  if  it  wake  at  all,  it  will  come 
forth  in  ten  days  as  a  beautiful  white-winged  moth.  For¬ 
merly  the  cocoons  were  either  reeled  before  the  ten  days 
period  was  completed  or  the  pupa  was  killed  by  steaming. 
Now,  in  regions  near  the  steam  filatures,  the  Chinese,  taught 
by  foreigners,  have  learned  how  to  accomplish  the  same 
end  by  heating  the  cocoons  in  ovens.  This  process  does  not 


The  Farmer 


101 


injure  the  silk  as  steaming  is  apt  to  do.  There  is  still  much 
room  for  improvement  in  the  care  of  the  worms.  Every 
year  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent  die  before  attaining 
their  growth.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  loss  is  as  high  as  sixty 
per  cent.  A  more  scientific  treatment  would  prevent  such  a 
great  waste.  As  it  is,  when  leaves  are  high  priced,  the 
growers  under-feed  the  worms.  This  not  only  lessens  the 
quantity  of  silk,  but  injures  its  quality  and  damages  the 
breed  as  well. 

The  ramie  is  a  valuable  textile  plant  grown  in  many  parts 
of  China.  The  inner  bark  supplies  a  fiber  which  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  the  celebrated  grass-cloth.  A  coarser 
kind  of  grass-cloth  is  made  from  the  ko ,4  a  plant  of  the 
dolichos  tribe.  There  are  many  varieties  of  hemp,  which 
are  cultivated,  sometimes  for  the  oil  which  is  expressed  from 
the  seed,  but  also  for  the  fiber.  From  the  finer  kinds  linen 
cloth  is  woven;  ropes  and  bags  are  made  from  the  coarser 
varieties.  Jute  is  also  grown,  and  another  plant,  whose 
bark  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  ropes  and  matting  is  the 
coir  palm,  which  is  quite  common  in  central  China. 


THE  OPIUM  POPPY 

In  a  “Historical  Note  on  the  Poppy  in  China, ”  by  Rev. 
J.  Edkins,  D.D.,  published  by  the  Imperial  Maritime  Cus¬ 
toms  in  1889,  we  are  told  that  tobacco  was  probably  intro¬ 
duced  into  China  from  the  Philippines  about  A.D.  1620. 
The  Spaniards  probably  brought  it  to  the  latter  place  from 
America.  Prohibitory  edicts  were  issued  by  the  Chinese 
emperors  against  the  cultivation  of  the  plant,  but  in  spite 
of  these  its  use  spread  rapidly  and  to-day  it  is  grown  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire.  After  the  leaf  is  prepared  it  is  smoked 
in  a  pipe,  either  a  small  brass  bowl  with  long  bamboo  stem, 
or,  as  is  more  often  the  case,  in  the  water  pipe,  usually  a 
rather  artistic  construction  of  brass.  It  is  sometimes  beau¬ 
tifully  engraved  and  is  commonly  decorated  with  silk  cord 

4  Botanicon  Sinicum;  Journal  of  China  Branch,  R.  A.  S.,  Yol.  XXV, 
No.  1,  p.  208. 


102 


The  Farmer 


and  tassels.  By  its  use  the  smoke  is  made  to  pass  through 
water,  and  is  thus  cooled  and  deprived  in  some  measure  of 
its  nicotine.  But  to-day  the  cigarette  has  replaced  the  pipe 
to  a  large  extent. 

The  poppy  appears  to  have  been  introduced  to  the  notice 
of  the  Chinese  by  Arab  traders  in  the  seventh  or  eighth 
century  A.D.  The  poppy  seeds  were  used  by  the  Arabs  as 
a  medicine  and  became  among  the  Chinese  a  very  popular 
remedy  for  many  diseases.  Thus  the  plant  soon  became 
quite  common  throughout  China.  The  juice  of  the  capsule 
was  already  in  use  for  medical  purposes  in  the  twelfth  cen¬ 
tury,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  foreign 
opium  was  a  common  article  of  import  in  south  China. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  the  habit  of  smoking  tobacco 
was  spread  abroad  that  opium  began  to  be  used  in  the  pipe. 
At  first  it  was  mixed  with  the  tobacco,  probably  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  it  a  pleasant  flavor  as  well  as  to  add  to 
its  narcotic  properties.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  vice  of  opium  smoking  had  already  become  so 
common  in  Formosa  and  at  Amoy  as  to  attract  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  Government,  and  in  A.D.  1729  an  edict  was 
issued  prohibiting  the  sale  of  opium  and  the  opening  of 
opium-smoking  houses,  but  the  import  continued  as  before. 
It  paid  the  usual  duty  at  the  custom  houses  and  no  effort 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  carry  the  edict  into  effect.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  cultivation  of  the  opium-poppy 
became  quite  common  in  Yunnan,5  and  from  that  time  on 
the  manufacture  of  native  opium  gradually  spread  through¬ 
out  the  empire,  until  in  1906  effective  measures  began  to 
be  taken  to  restrict  poppy  planting  and  the  use  of  opium. 

DYE  PLANTS 

What  is  called  indigo  in  China  is  prepared  from  a  num¬ 
ber  of  different  plants.  The  true  indigo  plant  (indig  of  era 
tinctoria)  is  found  only  in  the  southern  part  of  the  empire,6 

6  For  these  facts  regarding  the  introduction  of  opium  into  China 
I  am  indebted  to  the  above  mentioned  “  Historical  Note  on  the 
Poppy  in  China.  ” 

6  Botanicon  Sinicum,  p.  212* 


The  Farmer 


103 


but  other  plants,  notably  the  polygonum  tinctorium  and 
the  isatis  indigotica,  are  cultivated  over  a  large  part  of  the 
empire.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Shanghai  the  last  men¬ 
tioned  is  quite  common.  In  Chekiang  the  strobilanthes 
flaccidifolius  is  cultivated  for  this  purpose.  Other  plants 
that  are  cultivated  for  dyes  are  the  madder,  safflower,  and 
the  tzu  ts’ao  or  purple  herb.  But  the  introduction  of  ani¬ 
line  dyes  from  the  West  has  interfered  very  seriously  with 
the  sale  of  native  vegetable  dyes. 

Aside  from  the  fruit  trees  and  others  that  have  been 
mentioned,  there  are  many  useful  trees  grown.  Among 
them  are  the  oak,  valued  not  only  for  its  wood  but  for  the 
cupules  of  the  acorn,  which  are  used  to  produce  a  black 
dye,  the  chestnut,  willow,  catalpa,  camphor,  the  paper 
mulberry  ( Broussonetia  papyrifera )  from  the  bark  of 
which  a  strong  paper  is  made,  miscalled  “leather  paper, ” 
the  tallow  tree  ( sapium  sebiferum )  from  which  the  oil  is 
obtained  for  the  manufacture  of  candles,  the  soap  tree 
( gleditschia  sinensis),  from  whose  seeds  a  substitute  for 
soap  is  made,  the  elm,  from  the  inner  bark  of  which  a 
powder  is  prepared  for  the  manufacture  of  mucilage  and 
as  an  important  constituent  of  the  incense  used  in  the 
temples,  the  walnut,  arbor  vitas,  the  ash  and  the  privet. 
A  variety  of  the  privet,  the  ligustrum  lucidum  or  “large- 
leaved”  privet,  is  the  tree  on  which  the  wax  insect,  of 
Szechuen  is  found. 


INSECT  WAX 

Alexander  Hosie,  of  H.B.M’s.  Consular  Service,  in  his 
“Three  Years  in  Western  China”  gives  a  very  interesting 
description  of  the  manner  in  which  the  wax  is  produced. 
The  insect  is  found  in  many  parts  of  China,  but  its  favorite 
home  seems  to  be  in  south-western  Szechuen,  in  an  upland 
valley  some  five  ’thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
The  eggs  are  deposited  on  the  branches  of  the  privet  and 
covered  with  a  brown  scale.  At  the  end  of  April  carriers 
are  sent  into  the  valley  to  purchase  these  scales,  which  are 
done  up  in  small  paper  packages,  weighing  about  a  pound 


104 


The  Farmer 


apiece.  Each  carrier,  loaded  with  some  sixty  pounds  of  the 
precious  freight,  hurries  over  the  mountains  to  the  prefec¬ 
ture  of  Chiating,  some  two  hundred  miles  to  the  north-east. 
They  travel  only  at  night  to  avoid  the  heat  of  the  day, 
which  would  hasten  the  development  of  the  insects.  Hav¬ 
ing  reached  their  destination  they  take  the  scales,  twenty 
or  thirty  together,  and  wrapping  them  in  a  large  leaf  of 
the  wood-oil  tree,  suspend  them  to  branches  of  a  species  of 
ash,  the  fraxinus  Chinensis.  After  feeding  on  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  for  thirteen  days,  the  insects  return  to  the 
branches,  where  the  females  deposit  their  eggs  and  cover 
them  with  the  brown  scale,  and  the  males  deposit  the  white 
wax.  In  a  hundred  days  from  the  time  the  insects  are 
fastened  on  the  tree  the  deposit  is  complete.  The  branches 
are  then  cut  off  and  as  much  of  the  wax  as  possible  removed 
by  hand.  This  is  put  into  a  pot  of  boiling  water  where  the 
wax  melts  and  rises  to  the  surface.  It  is  then  skimmed  off 
and  placed  in  molds.  A  second  grade  of  wax  is  prepared 
by,  throwing  the  branches  and  twigs  into  the  pot  and  gath¬ 
ering  in  the  same  way  all  the  wax  that  can  be  obtained 
from  them.  Formerly  the  wax  was  in  great  demand  for 
coating  tallow  candles,  as  well  as  for  sizing  paper  and 
cotton  goods,  but  since  the  introduction  of  kerosene,  the 
demand  has  greatly  fallen  off.  The  wax  is  also  exported 
to  foreign  countries  where  it  is  used  in  the  preparation  of 
certain  medicines. 

Another  important  tree  of  western  China  is  the  yingtzu 
t’ung  (aleurites  cor  data),  from  which  the  well-known 
wood-oil  is  produced.  The  tree  grows  to  the  height  of 
fifteen  feet  and  is  beautiful  and  shady.  It  bears  a  small 
pink-white  flower.  The  fruit  looks  like  a  green  apple  and 
contains  the  pits  from  which  the  oil  is  expressed.  These 
are  gathered  in  August  and  September.  The  oil  is  much 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  varnish  and  for  other  purposes. 
Large  quantities  are  exported  every  year  to  foreign  coun¬ 
tries. 

The  varnish,  or  lacquer  tree  is  also  a  very  valuable  one. 


The  Farmer 


105 


THE  TEA  PLANT 

None  of  China’s  trees  or  shrubs,  however,  are  more  cele¬ 
brated  or  valuable  than  the  tea.  It  seems  that  it  was  not 
until  the  sixth  or  seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era  that 
tea  drinking  became  common,  even  in  China.7 

The  plants  seem  to  prefer  a  rather  poor  soil.  They  are 
set  out  at  a  distance  of  four  or  five  feet  apart  and  grow  to 
a  height  of  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet.  The  leaf  is  of 
a  glossy  dark  green  color  and  the  blossom  a  waxy  white. 
Some  good  tea  is  grown  in  the  southern  part  of  the  prov¬ 
ince  of  Anhui,  more  in  Kiangsi,  Fukien  and  Chekiang,  but 
most,  perhaps,  in  Hunan  and  Szechuen. 

Much  complaint  has  been  made  by  tea-traders  during  the 
past  few  years  of  the  losses  sustained  by  competition  with 
the  teas  of  India,  Japan  and  Java,  and  many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  induce  the  Chinese  Government  to  take  meas¬ 
ures  to  compel  a  more  careful  cultivation  of  the  plant  and 
a  more  scientific  preparation  of  the  leaf.  Efforts  have  been 
made,  too,  to  obtain  a  reduction  of  the  heavy  taxation  with 
which  the  trade  is  burdened.  So  far  as  the  preparation  of 
the  leaf  is  concerned  some  progress  has  recently  been  made, 
and  a  school  for  that  purpose  has  been  established  in  Ki- 
angsu  Province. 

China  tea  is  not  grown,  as  in  India,  on  large  plantations 
supplied  with  all  the  apparatus  for  preparing  and  boxing 
the  tea.  Each  proprietor  has  but  a  small  plot  of  ground, 
picks  the  leaf  himself,  with  the  aid  of  his  family,  and  often 
carries  it  himself,  sometimes  a  long  distance,  to  market. 
It  is,  therefore,  very  difficult  to  secure  uniformity  in  the 
methods  of  culture.  The  preparation,  too,  is  carried  on,  in 
part  at  least,  in  a  large  number  of  small  establishments 
with  very  unequal  skill  and  care.  There  are  two  varieties 
of  the  tea  plant,  the  green  and  the  black,  though  it  is  quite 
possible  to  prepare  both  green  and  black  from  the  same 
leaf.  One  variety,  however,  lends  itself  more  readily  to  the 
preparation  of  green  and  the  other  of  black.  A  third  pro- 

7  Botanicon  Sinicum,  p.  131. 


106 


The  Farmer 


vides  the  Oolong.  There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Chinese  tea  possesses  a  more  delicate  flavor  than  that  of 
India  and  that  it  is  much  less  astringent,  but  the  cultivation 
of  the  plant  leaves  much  room  for  improvement. 

The  plants  are  raised  from  seed  sown  in  moist  sand.  The 
shoots  produced  are  set  out  in  the  second  year.  At  three 
years  of  age  the  plucking  of  the  leaves  may  begin,  but  the 
shrub  does  not  attain  its  full  growth  until  six  or  seven  years 
of  age.  The  average  lifetime  of  a  good  plant  seems  to  be 
about  ten  or  twelve  years,  though  some  plants  thirty  years 
of  age  have  been  reported  as  still  in  use.  Trenching,  hoe¬ 
ing,  pruning  and  the  use  of  fertilizers  are  said  to  be  needed 
to  secure  the  best  growth,  but  these  processes  are  very  much 
neglected  by  the  Chinese.  The  first  picking  occurs  about 
the  middle  of  April  and  must  be  completed  in  from  three 
to  five  days  or  the  leaves  are  spoiled  for  the  production  of 
the  best  article.  The  end  leaves  are  left  in  place.  Two 
or  three  pluckings  a  year  are  said  to  be  all  that  should  be 
allowed,  but  in  some  cases  the  leaves  are  gathered  four  or 
five  times.  The  second  picking  takes  place  in  June  and 
the  third  in  August.  The  first  chop  is  the  finest,  and  there 
is  much  competition  among  foreign  buyers  to  secure  this. 
The  practice  unfortunately  too  often  leads  the  natives  to 
the  gathering  of  as  large  a  quantity  as  possible  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  quality.  The  growers  used  to  pay  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment  a  “hill  tax”  of  640  cash  per  picul,  about  fifty  cents 
on  every  133J  lbs.  Probably  this  is  still  collected.  Other 
taxes  amount  to  from  20  to  35%  of  the  value  of  the  tea 
at  the  time  of  export. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  processes  connected  with  tea 
manufacture  is  the  preparation  of  brick  tea.  This  may  be 
witnessed  in  the  large  factories  at  Hankow  and  Kiukiang. 
During  the  season  the  delicate  aroma  from  the  steaming 
tea-dust  may  be  detected  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  town. 

The  bamboo  is  also  a  most  useful  vegetable  product,  and 
small  groves  of  it  are  found  on  nearly  all  farms  in  central 
China.  The  young  shoots  are  a  much  prized  and  very 
pleasant  article  of  food,  while  the  full-grown  plant  finds 


The  Farmer 


107 


ready  market  for  an  infinite  variety  of  purposes.  The 
plant  grows  at  the  rate  of  a  foot  or  more  a  day,  and  in 
central  China  attains  the  height  sometimes  of  forty  feet  or 
more.  It  is  said  to  blossom  only  once  in  a  period  of  from 
thirty  to  sixty  years.8 


WATER  FARMING 

But  the  Chinese  farmer  is  not  content  merely  to  culti¬ 
vate  the  land.  He  lays  tribute  also  upon  the  water,  par¬ 
ticularly  upon  the  waters  of  the  ponds,  lakes  and  canals. 
Many  aquatic  plants  are  grown,  some  for  food  and  others 
for  fertilizing  purposes.  Among  the  former  one  of  the  most 
common  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful  is  the  lotus,  whose 
roots  and  seeds  are  both  regarded  as  table  delicacies.  The 
seeds,  stewed  in  a  sweetened  syrup,  are  indeed  delicious 
eating,  but  the  root  is  astringent  and  rather  insipid.  An¬ 
other  plant  grown  in  marshy  ground  is  the  pich’i,  by  some 
called  the  1 1  water-chestnut.  ’  ’  It  is  the  Scirpus  tuberosus. 
The  tuber  is  of  the  size  of  a  chestnut  and  has  the  same  gen¬ 
eral  appearance,  hence  the  name.  When  peeled  and  cooked 
it  makes  a  pleasant  dish,  having  the  flavor  of  green  corn 
(maize). 

Much  attention,  too,  is  given  to  fish  culture.  At  the 
proper  season  the  farmer  purchases  a  supply  of  spawn 
with  which  he  stocks  his  ponds.  Hosie,  in  his  “  Three 
Years  in  Western  China,”  mentions  a  method  in  vogue  in 
that  part  of  the  empire  for  obtaining  the  spawn.  Bundles 
of  reeds  and  grass,  weighted  with  stones,  are  placed  in  the 
waters  of  the  Yangtze.  On  these  the  fish  deposit  their 
spawn  and,  in  that  region,  the  ova  are  scattered  in  the 
flooded  fields  which  are  being  prepared  for  the  rice.  The  fish 
are  hatched  and  after  a  few  months  they  are  large  enough 
to  be  used.  Several  methods  are  employed  for  catching 
the  fish.  In  the  larger  ponds  they  are  caught  with  a  seine, 
the  larger  fish  only  being  kept  for  use,  the  smaller  being 
tossed  back  to  complete  their  growth.  In  the  shallow  creeks 
the  fisherman  uses  a  long  bottomless  basket,  shaped  some- 

0  Botanicon  Sinicum,  p.  393. 


108 


The  Farmer 


what  like  a  truncated  cone.  With  this  in  his  left  hand  and 
a  long  bamboo  pole  in  his  right  he  wades  into  the  water 
and  strikes  about  with  the  pole  until  he  catches  sight  of 
a  darting  fish,  when  he  lunges  forward  and  attempts  to 
encircle  it  with  the  basket,  which  he  thrusts  into  the  water 
with  the  large  mouth  downward  until  it  reaches  the  bot¬ 
tom.  He  then  reaches  down  through  the  smaller  opening 
in  the  top  of  the  basket  and  takes  the  fish  out  with  his 
hands.  At  other  times  he  wades  slowly  through  the  water 
with  a  dip  net.  More  common  on  the  river  banks  is  the 
sight  of  the  large  dip  net  attached  to  a  stout  framework 
of  bamboo,  which  is  alternately  raised  and  lowered  by  a 
lever  in  shape  somewhat  like  an  old-fashioned  well-sweep. 
In  the  numerous  creeks,  canals  and  lakes  of  Kiangsu  cor¬ 
morants  are  used.  The  owner,  with  perhaps  a  dozen  of 
these  large  birds  seated  on  the  sides  of  his  skiff,  paddles 
out  to  the  fishing  ground  where  he  drives  the  birds  into 
the  water.  A  long  pole  enables  him  to  stir  up  the  lazy 
ones,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  seem  to  require  little  urging, 
and  may  be  seen  constantly  diving  and  returning  to  the 
surface.  A  ring  around  the  throat  prevents  the  greedy 
bird  from  devouring  the  catch,  which  is  at  once  brought  to 
the  boat  and  deposited  there.  The  cormorants  appear  to 
be  well  cared  for,  and  are  rewarded  for  a  good  day’s  work 
by  a  share  of  the  fish. 


POULTRY 

Poultry  raising  in  some  parts  of  the  country  has  become 
a  special  industry.  The  writer  had  the  privilege  a  few 
years  ago  of  visiting  a  Chinese  hatchery  at  Soochow.  The 
shop  on  the  street,  through  which  we  entered,  was  filled 
with  baskets  of  peeping  chicks  and  ducklings,  which  were 
being  offered  for  sale.  At  the  rear  we  crossed  a  court  and 
entered  a  dark  building  about  thirty  feet  square.  The  walls 
were  of  earth  and  the  roof  of  thatch.  The  only  opening 
was  the  door  which  was  kept  closed  by  a  weight  suspended 
over  a  pulley,  although  there  was  more  or  less  ventilation 
at  the  eaves.  The  watchman  in  charge  was  lying  down 


The  Farmer 


109 


at  one  side  of  the  room.  Six  or  eight  furnaces  of  earth, 
hemi-spherical  in  shape,  were  placed  at  regular  intervals 
and  supplied  with  a  smothered  fire.  On  top  of  each  fur¬ 
nace  was  a  shallow  covered  tray  containing  the  eggs.  There 
was  no  thermometer,  and  the  only  way  of  determining  the 
temperature  was  by  the  feelings  of  the  watchman.  After 
lying  some  days  on  the  furnace  the  eggs  were  removed  to 
a  shelf,  extending  across  the  room  a  few  feet  above  the 
furnace,  where  they  were  covered  with  straw.  Later  they 
were  removed  to  a  still  higher  shelf  and  in  due  time  were 
hatched.  The  whole  outfit  of  building  and  furnaces  was 
not  worth  over  $50.00,  yet  it  served  its  purpose  very  well, 
and  such  hatcheries  have  been  in  use  among  the  Chinese 
for  no  one  knows  how  long. 

AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS 

The  farmer’s  tools  are  all  of  a  very  primitive  pattern. 
His  plow  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  shovel  plow  used  by 
Americans  for  corn  cultivation.  It  has  but  one  handle  and 
is  usually  drawn  by  a  buffalo  or  an  ox.  The  harness  con¬ 
sists  of  nothing  more  than  a  rude  wooden  yoke  and  rope 
traces.  Sometimes  a  mule  and  a  cow  may  be  seen  yoked 
together.  The  smaller  fields  are  dug  by  hand  with  a  large 
four-pronged  mattock.  The  grain  is  cut  with  a  sickle  or 
bill-hook,  and  is  commonly  threshed  with  a  flail  on  an 
open  threshing-floor  of  beaten  earth.  The  men  and  women 
of  the  farm  take  their  places  in  two  lines,  facing  each 
other,  with  the  unthreshed  grain  between  them,  and  make 
lively  music  as  the  two  rows  of  flails  alternately  rise  and 
fall.  The  winnowing  is  done  by  tossing  the  grain  up  into 
the  air  against  the  wind,  but  this  process  is  supplemented 
by  the  use  of  a  fanning-mill.  If  the  flail  is  not  used  the 
sheaves  of  grain  are  arranged  in  a  circle  on  the  threshing 
floor,  and  an  ox  or  buffalo  is  made  to  drag  a  stone  roller 
over  them,  moving  round  and  round  until  the  grains  are 
all  shaken  from  the  stalks. 

Rice  is  hulled  in  stone  mortars  by  heavy  hammers,  worked 
either  with  the  foot  or  swung  by  the  arms.  When  the  foot 


110 


The  Farmer 


is  used  the  stone  hammer  is  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  beam, 
which  serves  as  a  lever.  By  the  pressure  of  the  foot  the 
hammer  is  raised  and  when  the  foot  is  removed  it  falls  by 
its  own  weight.  The  grain  is  ground  in  small  mills,  most 
commonly  turned  by  mule  power,  though  the  water  wheel 
is  not  unknown. 

MARKET  DAYS 

Taken  all  in  all  the  life  of  the  ordinary  Chinese  peasant 
does  not  seem  to  the  Western  man  to  be  much  happier  than 
that  of  his  ox  or  mule.  He  is  dull,  ignorant  and  supersti¬ 
tious.  His  hard  toil  barely  suffices  to  secure  him  needed 
food  and  coarse  clothing.  He  marries  and  rears  a  family 
of  children  like  himself.  His  world  is  the  village  in  which 
he  lives,  and  where  in  all  probability  his  ancestors  for  a 
hundred  generations  have  lived  before  him.  His  home  is 
cheerless  and  squalid ;  he  has  few  interests  beyond  his  plow¬ 
ing,  sowing  and  reaping;  his  longest  journey  will  probably 
be  to  his  county  town  and,  if  made,  will  afford  food  for 
thought  and  theme  for  conversation  for  months  to  come. 
His  dialect  is  peculiar  to  his  native  district.  He  has  heard 
vaguely  of  the  “ Eighteen  Provinces”  and  of  the  “ foreign 
devils,”  those  outside  barbarians  who  are  said  to  pay  trib¬ 
ute  to  the  “Son  of  Heaven”  at  Peking.  Some  have  heard 
that  a  republic  has  been  formed,  but  do  not  know  exactly 
what  it  means.  The  births  and  deaths  of  the  village,  the 
weddings  and  funerals,  with  the  occurrence  of  the  great 
annual  feasts,  serve  to  break  the  monotony  of  existence  and 
furnish  landmarks  for  the  reckoning  of  time.  There  is 
another  institution,  however,  which  rivals  these  in  impor¬ 
tance,  the  village  market.  Here  and  there  on  the  highways 
of  travel  are  villages  of  more  than  ordinary  size  and  im¬ 
portance.  They  have  inns  for  the  passing  caravans  with 
refreshment  for  man  and  beast,  tea-houses  for  the  comfort 
of  the  village  idlers  and  gamblers  and  the  exchange  of 
neighborhood  gossip  by  visiting  farmers,  and  shops  for  the 
sale  of  such  necessaries  and  luxuries  as  salt,  matches,  kero¬ 
sene,  sugar,  candles,  incense  and  mock  money,  printed 


MARKET  AT  KALGAN 


The  Farmer 


111 


cottons,  soap  and  toilet  articles.  Every  five  days,  or  it  may 
be  every  ten,  a  market  or  fair  is  held  in  the  streets. 
Peasants  gather  from  all  the  countryside,  bringing  their 
produce;  rice,  beans,  fresh  vegetables,  pigs,  poultry  and 
eggs,  and  the  little  village  assumes  a  busy  aspect.  Its  one 
principal  street  is  so  crowded  that  passing  caravans  can 
scarcely  make  their  way  through. 

This  is  the  farmer  ?s  sabbath ;  he  gets  away  from  his  hoe 
and  the  hum-drum  life  of  the  farm  to  talk  with  his  fellows, 
to  enjoy  the  latest  scandal  and  to  listen  with  bated  breath 
to  scraps  of  misinformation  that  have  filtered  in  from  the 
great  outside  world,  of  which  he  knows  so  little  and  can 
form  no  real  conception;  how  Great  Britain  and  Germany 
have  been  at  war,  how  Japan  is  attempting  to  annex  Si¬ 
beria,  or  Dr.  Sun  marching  on  Peking.  The  fortune-teller 
and  the  quack  are  on  hand  to  reap  a  harvest  from  his 
superstition  and  credulity,  and  the  Punch  and  Judy  show 
to  furnish  him  amusement.  The  traveling  pedlar  and  the 
peripatetic  tinker  make  themselves  more  useful. 

One  April  morning  some  years  ago,  I  came  into  a  little 
village  in  central  Anhui,  called  “Great  Willow  Tree.” 
The  market  was  already  in  progress  and  the  street  was 
a  busy  scene  of  bargain  and  sale.  Just  outside  the  village 
gate  an  itinerant  blacksmith  had  set  up  his  kit  and  was 
mending  plow-shares.  As  we  passed  through  the  gate  and 
entered  the  village  we  met  a  caravan  of  pack-mules,  laden 
with  hemp-oil  and  making  their  way  to  Nanking.  Several 
trains  of  wheel-barrows  followed,  carrying  opium,  oil,  cot¬ 
ton,  vermicelli  or  native  medicines,  i.e.  herbs  and  roots. 
One  barrow-man  sometimes  wheels  as  much  as  three  hun¬ 
dred  pounds  over  these  rough  roads.  Other  caravans  came 
in  during  the  day  making  the  return  journey,  bringing 
cotton  cloth,  kerosene,  matches,  paper  and  a  varied  assort¬ 
ment  of  other  manufactures.  There  were  a  number  of 
Mohammedan  families  in  the  place,  who  had  built  them¬ 
selves  a  small  mosque.  An  old  inn-keeper  of  this  faith, 
with  whom  we  had  some  acquaintance,  hailed  us  in  the 
street  and  insisted  on  carrying  us  off  to  the  inn  to  drink 
tea  with  him  and  to  meet  the  young  mollah,  who  had  lately 


m 


The  Farmer 


come  there  to  live.  Meantime  the  marketers  were  busy  hag¬ 
gling  with  their  customers  over  the  prices  of  cabbage  and 
garlic,  turnips,  chickens  and  eggs.  The  shop-keepers  within 
doors  were  having  quite  as  good  a  day’s  trade  as  the  farmers 
outside,  and  both  seemed  well  satisfied.  Tables  were  set 
by  the  roadside  for  the  sale  of  hot  tea  and  a  cool  smoke 
with  a  native  hubble-bubble  for  those  who  wanted  such  re¬ 
freshment,  while  the  usual  group  of  loafers  were  noisily 
settling  the  affairs  of  the  universe  in  the  tea-house.  Sud¬ 
denly  the  hum  of  traffic  was  drowned  by  a  gong  and,  look¬ 
ing  up,  we  saw  a  huge  idol  of  fierce  mien,  brandishing  a 
long  sword  in  his  upraised  right  hand,  being  carried 
through  the  crowd  by  four  bearers.  He  was  seated  on  a 
chair,  or  throne,  richly  carved  and  gaudily  decorated.  A 
rather  well-to-do  farmer  of  the  neighborhood  was  very  ill 
and,  other  remedies  having  failed,  his  family  had  sent  to 
a  neighboring  town  for  this  image,  which  was  celebrated 
through  all  the  country  round  for  its  powers  of  healing, 
as  famous  in  its  way  as  the  Virgin  of  Lourdes  or  other 
miracle-working  images  of  Europe.  The  idol  was  taken  to 
the  shop  of  the  village  physician,  where  preparations  had 
already  been  made  for  his  reception.  The  doctor,  wearing 
a  pair  of  huge  tortoise-shell  spectacles,  sat  behind  a  table 
with  paper  before  him  and  a  Chinese  pen  in  his  hand.  The 
bearers,  supporting  the  idol  upon  their  shoulders,  stood 
facing  him.  Rows  of  drugs  in  neatly  labeled  packages 
were  hung  upon  the  wall  behind  him.  An  assistant  with 
a  rod  in  his  hand  pointed  to  these  packages  one  by  one, 
saying  as  he  did  so:  “Please  Sir,  will  you  have  this?”  If 
there  was  no  response,  he  passed  to  the  next  and  the  next, 
until  the  bearers  were  suddenly  thrust  forward,  which  was 
taken  as  an  indication  that  the  drug  was  needed.  Then 
followed  the  question:  “Please  Sir,  how  much  will  you 
have?  Five  scruples?  One  dram?”  When  the  proper 
amount  was  mentioned  the  bearers  were  thrust  backward. 
Thus  the  prescription  was  gradually  compounded.  At  first 
I  felt  a  sort  of  pity  for  the  patient  who  would  have  to 
swallow  the  decoction,  but  later  concluded  that  it  was  prob¬ 
ably  no  worse  a  dose  than  such  a  physician  would  have 


The  Farmer 


113 


given  had  he  lacked  the  assistance  of  the  chair -bearers.  My 
suggestion  that  the  idol’s  chair  should  be  placed  on  the 
floor  and  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  move  it  himself  back¬ 
ward  and  forward  did  not  meet  with  approval. 

Gradually  the  crowds  in  the  street  began  to  disperse,  and 
before  evening  the  village  had  already  assumed  its  wonted 
aspect  of  dullness.  The  farmers  could  be  seen  trudging 
homeward  over  the  hills,  each  with  a  pole  over  his  shoulder 
to  which  a  pair  of  baskets  were  suspended,  containing  the 
purchases  of  the  day.  They  went  home  sober,  too,  as  they 
usually  do.  There  was  not  the  slightest  sign  of  drunken¬ 
ness  or  disorder  throughout  the  whole  day. 


AGRICULTURAL  DISTRESS 

Among  the  least  fortunate  of  the  peasant  classes  are  the 
farm  laborers,  who  are  hired  by  the  day,  month  or  year, 
at  wages  which  seem  to  us  pitifully  small.  They  vary  from 
three  cents  a  day  and  food,  at  ordinary  times,  to  five  or 
ten  cents  a  day  with  food  in  harvest  time.  When  hired  by 
the  month  they  receive  from  fifty  cents  to  a  dollar  and  a 
half  besides  board  and  lodging.  Annual  wages  vary  from 
$7.50  to  $15.00  with  board.  Living,  as  many  farmers  do, 
from  hand  to  mouth,  it  takes  but  little  misfortune  to  create 
deep  distress.  In  the  Yellow  River  region  of  Shantung  an 
unusual  rise  of  the  water  often  leads  to  the  breaking  of 
the  dykes  and  an  overflow  which  drives  myriads  from 
their  ruined  homes  to  beg  upon  the  highway.  Not  infre¬ 
quently  has  the  writer  seen  such  unfortunates  making 
their  way  southward  in  search  of  better  luck,  the  head  of 
the  family  pushing  a  wheel-barrow  on  which  were  stored 
the  family  bedding  and  kitchen  utensils,  and  perched 
among  them,  perhaps,  a  small-footed  wife  and  one  or  two 
children.  Such  a  family  came  a  few  years  ago  to  the  little 
village  of  Yiihotzu,  in  Anhui.  Mr.  Chang  had  been  a  small 
farmer  and  a  country  school  teacher;  and,  as  is  often  true 
in  such  cases,  had  succeeded  in  neither.  At  any  rate  he 
could  find  no  pupils  in  Yiihotzu,  and  he  supported  his 


114 


The  Farmer 


family,  or  rather  failed  to  support  them,  by  picking  up 
odd  jobs  in  the  neighborhood.  When  I  first  met  them  I 
was  struck  by  the  peculiarly  pathetic  look  in  the  face  of 
the  wife.  The  meaning  of  this  look  was  explained  to  me 
by  the  neighbors  somewhat  in  the  following  fashion.  About 
a  year  before  my  visit  Mr.  Chang  was  returning  from  the 
next  village,  where  he  had  found  a  day’s  work.  It  was 
just  after  dusk,  and  as  he  passed  a  lonely  spot  on  the  road, 
he  heard  the  wail  of  a  little  child  by  the  wayside,  the  cry 
of  some  waif  whose  heartless  parents  had  left  it  there  to 
die.  But  Chang  had  four  half-starved  children  of  his  own 
at  home  and  could  not  stop  to  take  pity  upon  the  child  of 
another.  He  kept  the  matter  to  himself  until  the  next 
morning  when  he  mentioned  it  to  a  neighbor.  The  neigh¬ 
bor’s  wife,  a  compassionate  woman,  rushed  off  at  once  to 
the  spot  indicated  to  see  if  anything  could  be  done.  It 
was  too  late;  the  tom  clothing  of  the  child  was  there,  but 
dogs  or  wolves  had  devoured  the  little  unfortunate  during 
the  night.  A  few  weeks  later  one  of  Chang’s  children,  a 
bright  little  boy,  was  taken  ill  and  died.  His  sister,  who 
was  greatly  attached  to  him,  pined  for  him  daily  and  would 
go  out  and  sit  by  his  grave  and  sing  a  little  song  which 
both  had  learned  in  a  mission  Sunday-school  lately  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  village.  It  was  a  strange  song  from  the  lips 
of  a  Chinese  child,  though  familiar  enough  in  Christian 
lands : 


There  is  a  happy  land ;  far,  far  away. 

Not  long  after  she  too  fell  sick  and  died.  The  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  family  did  not  improve,  and  finally  to  save 
the  lives  of  the  two  remaining  children  the  father  sold 
them  to  strangers  and  they  were  carried  far  away.  The 
strange,  hungry  look  in  the  mother’s  eyes  was  not  hard  to 
be  understood;  her  heart  was  broken. 

As  the  story  was  told  to  me  there  was  the  implication 
that  Mr.  Chang’s  later  misfortunes  were  a  punishment 
from  Heaven  for  his  heartlessness  toward  the  forsaken  waif 
whose  piteous  appeal  he  had  denied.  For  Chinese  men  and 


The  Farmer 


115 


women  are  quite  as  ready  as  their  Western  cousins  to 
interpret  the  ways  of  Providence. 

I  have  endeavored  in  this  chapter  to  give  a  true  picture 
of  country  life  in  China,  its  lights  and  shadows.  It  is  not 
wholly  a  gloomy  picture,  yet  the  shadows,  perhaps,  pre¬ 
dominate.  One  must  ever  bear  in  mind  the  wide  distinction 
to  be  made  between  those  whose  large  estates  furnish  such 
revenues  as  enable  them  to  live  at  ease,  and  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  great  majority  who  are  but  small  proprie¬ 
tors  or  tenants,  and  whose  environment  from  birth  to  death 
is  one  of  sordid,  comfortless  poverty.  Few  of  the  latter 
class  ever  learn  to  read.  Some  obtain  just  enough  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  characters  to  be  able  in  rough  fashion  to  set 
down  their  accounts.  Their  acquaintance  with  mathe¬ 
matics,  if  they  have  any,  is  confined  to  the  rather  curious 
method  of  using  cash  as  counters.  The  coins  are  arranged 
in  groups  of  five,  and  the  method  of  reckoning  is  somewhat 
similar  to  that  with  the  abacus.  A  badly  printed  cal¬ 
endar  pasted  on  the  wall  of  the  hut  helps  them  to  keep 
track  of  the  seasons.  The  calendar  is  illustrated  with  a 
gaudy  print  of  an  impossible  cow  in  varigated  colors  of 
red,  green,  yellow  and  purple,  and  the  arrangement  of  these 
colors  indicates  to  them  what  the  prophecies  of  the  wise 
men  are  as  to  the  weather  of  the  coming  year.  This  serves 
to  show  how  simple-minded,  credulous  and  wanting  in  all 
scientific  knowledge  the  Chinese  peasant  is.  He  has  but 
slight  acquaintance  with  the  government  under  which  he 
lives.  Its  representative  to  him  is  the  opium-smoking 
rowdy  who  comes  to  collect  the  taxes,  and  his  little  experi¬ 
ence  has  taught  him  that  the  less  he  knows  of  the  yamen 
the  better. 

To  outward  seeming  he  may  appear  to  be  utterly 

.  .  .  dead  to  rapture  and  despair, 

A  thing  that  grieves  not  and  that  never  hopes, 

Stolid  and  stunned,  a  brother  to  the  ox, 

yet  beneath  the  rough  exterior  there  beats  a  truly  human 
heart.  His  better  impulses,  unfortunately,  are  sometimes 


116 


The  Farmer 


checked  by  fear  of  ghostly  powers.  A  peasant  family  in 
the  suburbs  of  Nanking,  when  they  saw  that  the  old  grand¬ 
mother  was  about  to  die,  removed  her  to  an  out-shed  lest 
the  spirit  of  Death  should  enter  the  house.  There  she  lay 
for  weeks  with  no  bedding  but  a  pile  of  straw,  until  she 
breathed  her  last.  Yet  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the 
family  entirely  neglected  her  or  were  altogether  indifferent 
to  her  comfort. 

Sometimes  the  dread  of  officialdom  prevents  the  exercise 
of  kindness.  A  man  dying  by  the  roadside  is  left  unat¬ 
tended,  for  any  good  Samaritan  who  may  be  disposed  to 
minister  to  his  wants  is  likely  to  be  seized  and  held  ac¬ 
countable  for  the  death,  and  though  the  accused  may  easily 
prove  his  innocence,  he  will  not  escape  the  clutches  of  the 
law  without  paying  heavy  blackmail.  But,  when  fears  and 
suspicions  do  not  interfere,  the  hand  of  charity  is  not  with¬ 
held  from  the  needy  nor  the  word  of  comfort  from  the  be¬ 
reaved.  Our  peasant  shares  all  the  sorrows  as  well  as  all 
the  festivities  of  his  native  village.  He  takes  an  interest 
in  the  ailments  of  his  neighbor  and  is  quick  to  suggest 
remarkable  remedies,  mostly  magical,  which  his  experience 
has  proved.  He  is  hospitable  to  the  stranger  within  the 
village  gates ;  even  the  vagabond  and  the  beggar  are  rarely 
turned  from  the  door.  Yet,  once  the  villager’s  suspicions 
are  aroused  or  the  rumor  of  evil  intentions  circulated,  his 
wrath  is  fierce,  sweeping  and  merciless,  as  has  been  re¬ 
peatedly  shown  in  attacks  upon  missionaries  against  whom 
foolish  charges  of  witchcraft  have  been  made. 

The  farmer’s  life  is  not  too  often  relieved  by  merry¬ 
makings,  and  we  may  be  sure  no  such  occasion  will  be 
neglected  by  him.  He  makes  the  wedding  lively  with  his 
rough  jokes,  and  he  does  not  forget  the  congratulations  and 
gifts  due  to  the  father  of  a  new-born  son.  When  a  religious 
feast  is  to  be  celebrated  he  gives  his  humble  contribution 
cheerfully  and  joins  enthusiastically  in  the  ceremonies.  If 
he  be  an  old  man,  afflicted  with  rheumatism  or  the  subject 
of  special  misfortune,  he  and  perhaps  his  aged  consort  will 
don  the  red  garments  of  the  penitent,  and  fall  in  with  the 
noisy  procession  which  escorts  the  idol  on  his  rounds.  If 


The  Farmer 


117 


a  younger  man,  he  may  load  himself  with  chains  or  carry 
heavy  weights  hooked  into  his  flesh,  ostensibly  to  atone  for 
sin  and  win  the  favor  of  the  god,  but  more  often,  perhaps, 
out  of  mere  love  of  display.  When  the  temple  on  the  hill 
proposes  to  send  for  a  theatrical  troupe  to  give  a  five  days’ 
performance,  his  subscription  is  not  withheld,  and  day 
after  day  he  will  bar  the  door  of  his  house  and  take  his 
whole  family,  each  provided  wdth  a  stool,  to  sit  with  his 
neighbors  in  the  open  air  and  watch  the  play. 

Thus  toiling,  sorrowing,  rejoicing,  he  keeps  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way,  and  when  the  last  hour  comes  he  falls 
peacefully  asleep,  and  is  laid  to  rest  in  the  heavy  wooden 
coffin  which  for  years  he  has  had  stored  in  his  house  in 
preparation  for  this  event.  Amidst  the  wailing  of  mourners, 
the  burning  of  incense  and  mock  money,  the  sacrifices  of 
food  and  the  chanting  of  monks,  he  is  carried  to  the  village 
grave  plot  and  gathered  to  his  fathers. 


f 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  VILLAGE  REPUBLIC 


Law  is  not  the  command  of  a  superior  to  inferiors,  but  a  declara¬ 
tion  by  the  village  elders  of  immemorial  usage. 

Maine;  “Village  Communities.  ’  ’ 

Ten  households  make  a  pai  (tithing)  ;  each  pai  shall  have  a  head¬ 
man.  Ten  pai  make  a  chia;  each  chia  shall  have  a  chief.  Ten 
chia  make  a  pao ;  each  pao  shall  have  a  director.  These  heads 
of  the  pai,  chia,  and  pao  shall  each  be  elected  by  the  ten  heads  of 
the  groups  which  he  represents. 

Ta  Ch’ing  Hui  Tien:  Bk.  17,  p.  9. 

I  have  already  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  family 
in  China  is  the  social  unit.  The  village  may  very  properly 
be  called  the  political  unit.  The  family  grew  into  the  clan 
and  the  clan,  as  already  stated,  frequently  grew  into  the 
village,  and,  although  the  family  is  autocratically  governed 
by  the  father,  the  clan  is  ruled  by  the  council  of  the  elders 
or  heads  of  families.  The  tendency  of  the  clan  government, 
as  has  been  shown,  is  toward  democracy  rather  than  toward 
autocracy. 

This  tendency  was  exemplified  in  the  conflicts  which 
often  occurred  between  the  clan  and  the  local  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  national  government.  The  members  of  the  clan 
stood  together  for  the  protection  of  their  ancient  family 
rights  against  encroachment  by  the  mandarins.  A  similar 
tendency  was  shown  in  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Miss 
Phillpotts,  in  a  work  already  mentioned,  “Kindred  and 
Clan  in  the  Middle  Ages,”  says: 

We  may  summarize  what  seems  to  have  been  the  tendency  of 
the  kindreds  by  describing  it  as  democratic — that  is  to  say,  that 
in  discouraging  the  rise  of  petty  local  chiefs  they  tended  to 
keep  the  status  of  all  freemen  equal — but  we  must  believe  that 
they  achieved  this  result  by  refusing  opportunities  to  the  strong 
as  well  as  by  protecting  the  weak  against  outside  aggression. 

118 


The  Village  Republic 


119 


They  were  not  democratic  in  the  sense  that  the  medieval  church 
was  democratic.  But  though  it  seems  that  we  must  concede  this 
quite  considerable  degree  of  influence  to  the  kindreds,  we  must 
be  careful  to  note  that  it  implies  no  active  organization,  no  con¬ 
scious  political  aim  on  their  part.  It  was  achieved,  as  it  were, 
anonymously,  by  what  we  may  call  passive  resistance.  We  still 
have  no  right  to  think  of  the  Teutonic  kindreds  as  organizing 
themselves  in  any  but  a  temporary  manner,  or  as  combining 
for  aggression.  A  kindred  can  only  be  said  to  exist  at  the 
moment  when  it  groups  itself  round  a  given  kinsman,  and  a  large 
proportion  of  this  group  must  merge  into  other  groups  if  some 
other  individual  is  in  need.  So  long  as  kinship  was  recognized 
through  both  male  and  female — i.e.,  during  the  whole  period — 
these  characteristics  of  the  kindreds  must  have  set  very  definite 
bounds  to  their  political  power.1 

In  China,  however,  the  clan  was  not  weakened  by  the  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  claims  of  maternal  kindred,  and,  therefore, 
it  has  been  both  formally  organized  and  has  exerted  a  more 
permanent  influence  than  in  Europe,  not  often  by  direct 
political  action,  but  indirectly  by  union  in  defense  of  cus¬ 
tomary  rights  and  in  resistance  to  new  imposts  by  either 
local  or  national  authorities. 

MUTUAL  RESPONSIBILITY 

The  permanence  and  strength  of  the  clan  organization 
was  fostered,  too,  by  the  ancient  practice  on  the  part  of  the 
national  government  which  held  the  members  of  a  clan  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  offenses  of  any  one  of  their  number.  Free¬ 
dom  and  self-government  always  carry  with  them  certain 
obligations.  A  clan  might  successfully  resist  the  exactions 
by  the  provincial  or  national  authorities  of  new  imposts 
or  new  services,  but,  once  a  serious  crime  was  committed 
by  a  member  of  the  clan,  the  punishment  of  the  clan  was 
swift  and  merciless.  For  the  system  of  mutual  responsi¬ 
bility  extended  upwards  from  each  individual  member  of 
the  clan  to  the  highest  provincial  authorities.  The  local 
authorities  were  responsible  to  the  national  government  for 
the  peace  and  good  order  of  their  districts,  and  the  same 
motive  that  induced  them  to  avoid  antagonizing  a  clan, 

i  Op.  cit.,  pp.  256,  257. 


120 


The  Village  Republic 


when  it  could  be  safely  avoided,  that  is  to  say,  the  desire 
to  avoid  being  called  to  account  for  the  disorder  that  would 
result  from  a  quarrel  with  the  clan,  made  them  equally 
zealous  to  exact  the  full  penalty  of  the  law  when  others 
created  a  disturbance  of  the  peace.  Neglect  to  do  so  would 
bring  them  under  the  condemnation  of  the  national  govern¬ 
ment,  and  render  them  liable  themselves  to  severe  penalties. 
Numerous  illustrations  may  be  given  of  the  infliction  of 
such  penalties.  In  October,  1905,  the  American  Presby¬ 
terian  Mission  at  Lienchou,  Kuangtung  Province,  was  at¬ 
tacked  by  a  mob.  Several  missionaries  were  killed  and 
the  hospital  and  other  mission  buildings  burned.  In  pun¬ 
ishment  for  the  crimes  committed  several  rioters  were  put 
to  death,  and  the  district  magistrate  and  the  commander 
of  the  local  military  force  were  removed  from  office  never 
to  be  employed  again,  although  they  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  rioting.  The  following  year,  in  the  province  of  Kiangsi, 
a  French  mission  was  attacked  with  some  loss  of  life,  and 
not  only  were  a  number  of  the  rioters  executed  but  the 
Governor  of  the  province,  the  provincial  Judge  and  the 
provincial  Treasurer  were  all  removed  from  office. 


THE  TITHING 

As  long  as  a  village  was  occupied  simply  by  one  clan, 
the  elders  of  the  clan  were,  of  course,  the  elders  of  the 
village  and  responsible  for  its  peace.  But  the  time  came 
in  the  natural  growth  of  the  village  when  several  families, 
or  clans,  were  found  in  its  population,  and  a  system  of 
mutual  responsibility  had  to  be  devised  to  cover  this  con¬ 
dition.  That  time  came  in  a  distant  antiquity.  The  social 
organization  adopted  to  secure  the  peace  was  that  of  the 
tithing.  Under  the  late  Manchu  Dynasty,  the  Ta  Ch’ing 
Ilui  Tien ,  or  Constitutional  Code  of  the  Manchus,  provided 
that  ten  families  should  constitute  a  tithing  with  a  tithing- 
man  at  its  head,  that  ten  tithings  should  make  a  hundred 
with  a  hundred-man  at  its  head,  and  that  ten  hundreds 
should  make  a  thousand — or  a  li  or  fang — with  a  thousand- 


The  Village  Republic  121 

headman.  The  term  li  was  used  in  the  village  and  fang  in 
the  cities.2 

The  system,  however,  is  much  older  than  the  Manchu 
Dynasty.  Under  the  Chou  Dynasty  (1122-249  B.C.),  and 
probably  under  those  that  preceded  it,  five  families  were 
grouped  together  and  made  mutually  responsible  one  for 
another.  Five  of  these  groups,  that  is  to  say  twenty-five 
families,  constituted  a  lu.  Four  lu  were  combined  in  a 
hundred,  and  five  hundreds  made  a  Vang,  five  t’ang  a 
chou,  and  five  chou,  that  is  12,500  families  constituted  a 
hsiang  or  village.3  Each  of  these  groups  had  its  headman, 
just  as  in  case  of  the  later  division  into  tithings. 

The  system  was  modified  somewhat  from  age  to  age,  and 
probably  the  group  often  had  more  or  less  than  the  number 
of  families  required  by  the  law,  but  the  principle  which 
made  neighbors  responsible  for  one  another  remained  un¬ 
changed.  The  attempt  to  introduce  western  theories  and 
methods  of  government  has  scarcely  affected  village  life  as 
yet. 

VILLAGE  ELDERS 

These  headmen  are  to-day  the  elders  of  the  village  and 
of  the  city  ward.  Theoretically  they  are  chosen  by  the 
families  concerned  and  appointed  by  the  county  magistrate. 
In  some  cases  this  is  the  actual  practice.  Through  these 
headmen  the  village  governs  itself.  One  of  the  headmen 
becomes  the  ti-pao,  that  is  to  say  the  responsible  represen¬ 
tative  of  the  whole  village,  corresponding  to  the  post  of 
the  head  of  the  hsiang.  He  is  the  mediator  between  the 
officers  of  the  national  or  provincial  government  on  the  one 
side  and  the  people  of  the  village  on  the  other  side.  He 
is  held  responsible  for  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the 
village  and  for  the  collection  and  payment  of  the  taxes. 
In  all  transfers  of  real  estate  his  name  appears  upon  the 
title  deed  as  surety  for  the  legality  of  the  transaction,  with¬ 
out  which  the  county  magistrate  will  refuse  to  affix  his  seal 

2  Ta  Ch’ing  Hui  Tien:  Bks.  17  and  157. 

3  Chou  Li,  Vol.  III. 


122 


The  Village  Republic 


or  allow  the  deed  to  go  to  record.  The  same  is  true  in  the 
several  wards  into  which  the  city  is  divided,  for  theoret¬ 
ically  the  city  appears  to  be  a  group  of  villages  enclosed 
by  one  surrounding  wall.  The  law  required  the  headman 
to  be  honest,  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  and  to  be  married. 


POLICE 

The  changes  in  political  agencies  and  organization 
wrought  by  the  reforms  that  followed  the  “Boxer”  rising 
of  1900  and  the  revolution  of  1911  have  affected  some 
branches  of  the  government  very  greatly.  One  of  these 
changes  was  the  establishment,  in  1905,  of  a  national  gen¬ 
darmerie,  or  police  force.  But,  while  theoretically  the  police 
powers  of  the  whole  country  are  exercised  by  the  Ministry 
of  the  Interior  at  Peking,  in  reality  except  in  some  of  the 
principal  cities  the  peace  is  maintained  very  much  as  of 
old,  by  control  through  the  village  elders  and  the  system 
of  mutual  responsibility. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  measure  of  success  attending 
this  method  of  police  I  recall  that  some  years  before  the 
revolution  of  1911  my  home  was  burglarized.  The  county 
authorities  were  informed  and  the  Magistrate  sent  for  the 
local  ti-pao  and  directed  him  to  recover  the  stolen  goods  or 
arrest  the  thieves  within  a  certain  number  of  days,  other¬ 
wise  he  would  be  held  accountable.  Before  the  expiration 
of  the  time  limit  all  the  important  articles  stolen  were  re¬ 
covered  and  returned  to  us.  The  ti-pao  knew,  of  course, 
where  the  thieves’  market  was  held,  and  articles  of  foreign 
manufacture  at  that  time  were  easily  detected.  Had  it 
been  a  native  house  that  was  robbed  perhaps  the  ti-pao 
would  have  had  much  greater  difficulty  in  identifying  the 
stolen  goods.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  method  of  hold¬ 
ing  the  neighbors  responsible  for  one  another’s  conduct  and 
the  elders  responsible  for  the  village  tends  to  check  serious 
offenses.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  general  sentiment  is 
opposed  to  any  regulation,  such  as  that  forbidding  opium 
smoking,  the  probabilities  are  that  the  neighbors  will  shield 


The  Village  Republic 


123 


one  another.  The  responsibility  of  the  ti-pao,  as  the  prin¬ 
cipal  elder,  for  the  good  order  of  the  whole  village  makes 
his  office  anything  but  a  sinecure. 

Bearing  in  mind  what  has  already  been  said,  that  there 
are  few  farmers  living  in  detached  farm-houses  and  that, 
as  a  rule,  they  congregate  in  villages,  it  will  be  seen  that 
China  for  the  most  part  is  a  land  of  village  communities. 
There  are  some  1500  cities  in  China,  and  they  will  not 
average  50,000  inhabitants  each,  so  that  they  contain  not 
more  than  75  millions  of  the  400  millions  of  the  population, 
that  is  to  say  less  than  one-fifth.  The  remaining  375  mil¬ 
lions  are  the  villagers.  Probably  four-fifths  or  more  of 
the  people,  therefore,  live  in  villages.  You  may  stand  on 
an  elevation  almost  anywhere  in  the  central  or  eastern 
provinces  of  China  and  count  the  villages  in  sight  by  the 
score.  They  are  rarely  more  than  a  fraction  of  a  mile 
apart  on  any  of  the  principal  roads.  This  will  enable  us 
to  understand  the  importance  of  the  village  elders  to  the 
peace  of  the  state. 

All  important  villages  are  protected  by  ramparts  of  earth 
and  gates  that  are  supposed  to  be  closed  at  night,  but  in 
many  cases  the  walls  and  gates  are  allowed  to  fall  into  bad 
condition,  and  the  smaller  hamlets,  of  course,  have  no  such 
protection.  In  times  of  public  disorder,  however,  the  elders 
will  see  that  the  walls  are  repaired  and  the  gates  kept  closed 
and,  if  the  condition  be  very  perilous,  the  local  train-band 
will  be  called  upon  to  set  guards  and  supplement  the  work 
of  the  village  watch-men.  The  train-band  is  one  of  the 
volunteer  organizations  of  the  village  which  still  further 
illustrates  the  independence  of  the  village  in  the  matter  of 
protection.  The  professional  soldier,  in  fact,  is  feared  and 
disliked.  A  Chinese  proverb  says:  “You  don’t  make  nails 
out  of  good  iron;  you  don’t  make  soldiers  out  of  good 
men.”  The  spice  of  the  proverb  is  in  the  pun  upon  the 
word  ting ,  which  is  used  for  nails  and  for  soldiers.  In 
reality  two  words  are  used  which  are  entirely  different 
when  written  but  which  are  both  pronounced  ting.  The 
proverb  is  not  so  applicable  to-day  as  it  was  before  the 
organization  of  the  new  national  army.  There  are  many 


The  Village  Republic 


124 

countries  besides  China,  however,  in  which  the  militia-man 
in  times  of  peace  is  preferred  by  the  ordinary  house-holder 
to  the  professional  soldier.  The  members  of  the  train- 
band  belong  to  the  village.  They  are  known.  They  are 
interested  in  preserving  their  neighbors’  goods,  and  they 
are  easily  called  to  account  for  any  offense  committed.  If 
brigandage  is  rife  and  the  highways  unsafe,  the  elders  of 
neighboring  villages  will  arrange  to  combine  their  train- 
band  forces  to  patrol  the  roads. 


BRIGANDAGE 

Against  a  large  army  the  village  train-band,  of  course, 
is  of  no  use,  but  for  defense  against  brigands  it  serves  very 
well. 

In  times  of  drought  or  flood,  which  always  bring  famine 
in  their  train,  many  poor  people  are  driven  to  organize 
themselves  into  bands  of  robbers,  which  pillage  the  homes, 
and  particularly  the  granaries,  of  the  well-to-do.  And 
since  the  national  government  does  little  or  nothing  to 
prevent  flood  or  to  correct  the  conditions  that  bring 
drought,  these  calamities  occur  with  considerable  fre¬ 
quency,  sometimes  in  one  region,  at  others  in  another.  The 
highways  thus  become  infested  with  robbers,  and  the  inef¬ 
ficiency  of  the  national  and  provincial  authorities  has 
forced  the  people  to  take  the  question  of  protection  into 
their  own  hands.  Caravans  are  protected  by  the  payment 
of  blackmail  to  the  robber  chieftains.  These  caravans, 
which,  before  the  introduction  of  railways,  were  the  only 
freight  carriers  on  overland  routes,  still  form  the  ordinary 
means  of  transport  to  places  not  on  rail  or  water  ways. 
Upon  payment  of  a  fixed  sum  by  the  month  to  the  agent 
of  the  robbers  the  merchant  is  given  a  small  flag  bearing 
the  seal  of  the  robber  chieftain,  which  is  placed  upon  the 
leading  animal  of  the  caravan.  This  insures  immunity 
from  attack. 


The  Village  Republic 


1 25 


THE  VILLAGE  INN 

Other  travelers  are  less  fortunate,  but  if  they  escape  at¬ 
tack  on  the  road  they  will  be  grateful  for  the  shelter  at 
night  of  the  village  inn  and  for  the  protection  of  the  village 
guard.  The  village  inn  is  nothing  more  than  a  caravansary. 
The  wheel-barrows  and  carts,  with  their  freight,  are  parked 
in  the  courtyard,  around  which  are  built  the  stables  for 
the  mules  and  horses.  Their  drivers  with  the  barrow  men 
sleep  in  the  rooms  adjoining  the  stables.  Nothing  but  a 
thin  partition  separates  them  from  the  animals,  whose 
munching  can  be  heard  throughout  the  night.  The  trav¬ 
eler  carries  his  own  bedding,  which  is  spread  out  upon  a 
few  boards  stretched  over  two  trestles.  The  accommoda¬ 
tions  are  rude,  but  the  food  is  wholesome  and  abundant, 
and  when  one  has  ridden  twenty  or  thirty  miles  sleep, 
even  on  a  board,  is  sound  and  healthful. 

In  the  north  these  village  inns  are  usually  built  of  beaten 
earth  with  roof  of  thatch  or  slate;  in  the  central  and 
southern  provinces  they  are  more  attractive  in  appearance, 
being  generally  constructed  of  a  grey  brick  with  a  roof 
of  dark-colored  tiles.  In  the  north,  however,  instead  of 
a  bedstead  composed  of  two  trestles  and  a  few  boards  there 
is  built  in  one  corner  of  the  room  a  platform  of  earth 
covered  with  matting.  This  platform  is  heated,  either  by 
flues  passing  through  it  in  which  straw  and  twigs  are  burnt, 
or  by  a  charcoal  stove  built  in  one  side.  The  latter  is  often 
the  cause  of  death  from  asphyxiation  on  cold  winter  nights. 

THE  NIGHT  WATCHMAN 

In  ordinary  times  the  village  needs  no  other  protection 
than  that  of  tha  watchman  who  makes  the  round  of  the 
place  once  every  watch,  that  is  to  say  once  every  Chinese 
hour,  which  is  twice  as  long  as  a  western  hour.  The  first 
watch  is  from  7  to  9  o’clock  p.m.  During  that  hour  the 
ta-keng-ti  walks  through  the  village  streets  carrying  a  lan¬ 
tern  and  beating  his  gong,  or  wooden  rattle,  with  one  stroke 
every  few  paces.  Between  9  and  11  he  patrols  again,  giving 


126 


The  Village  Republic 


two  strokes,  and  thus  each  watch  of  the  night  is  announced, 
usually  towards  the  end  of  the  watch.  It  gives  one  a 
pleasant  sense  of  security,  as  he  turns  drowsily  in  his  bed, 
to  hear  the  beating  of  the  watch  and  become  half  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  someone  is  awake  and  watching  over  him. 
But  it  must  also  be  an  assurance  to  any  prowling  thief  that 
the  watchman  is  unlikely  to  call  again  before  two  hours 
are  passed. 

Since  the  villagers  are  chiefly  engaged  in  agriculture,  it 
is  necessary  to  protect  not  only  their  homes  but  their  fields 
which  are  situated  outside  the  village.  This  is  provided 
for  by  a  mutual  arrangement  among  the  neighbors,  who, 
at  harvest  time  or  when  the  fruit  is  ripening,  take  turns 
sleeping  in  the  fields  in  a  lodge  of  twigs.  Such  was  the 
“ lodge  in  a  garden  of  cucumbers,”  mentioned  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah.4 

CARING  FOR  THE  STREETS  AND  ROADS 

The  village  elders  must  also  see  that  the  streets  are 
lighted  and  the  roads  and  bridges  kept  in  repair.  At  pres¬ 
ent  the  lights  are  small  kerosene  lamps  placed  at  consid¬ 
erable  distances  from  one  another,  but  formerly  they  were 
shallow  cups  with  spouts  similar  in  shape  to  the  ancient 
Koman  lamps.  These  contained  a  little  bean  oil  in  which 
there  was  placed  a  wick  of  pith  that  projected  through 
the  spout.  These  lamps  were  placed  in  a  sheltered  recep¬ 
tacle  on  top  of  a  pillar  of  masonry.  Inside  the  village  gates 
the  streets  are  paved  either  with  cobble  stones,  as  is  common 
in  the  north,  or,  in  central  and  southern  China,  more  often 
with  brick  and  flag-stones.  Where  carts  are  unknown  a 
row  of  flagstones  is  laid  down  the  middle  of  the  street  with 
a  pavement  of  brick  on  either  side.  The  flagstones  serve 
as  a  track  for  the  wheel-barrows.  In  places  where  there 
are  stone  quarries  near  at  hand  the  whole  street  may  be 
paved  with  flat  stones.  This  was  formerly  the  case  in  the 
vicinity  of  Peking.  These  stones  wear  oft  at  the  joints, 
which  fills  the  road  with  holes  and  makes  a  journey  in  a 


4  Isa.  1:8. 


The  Village  Republic 


m 


springless  cart  over  such  a  pavement  a  torture  to  the  body 
and  a  serious  injury  to  one’s  morals. 

With  the  introduction  of  European  carriages  in  recent 
years,  and  the  coming  now  of  the  motor  car,  some  improve¬ 
ment  has  been  made  streets  and  roads  in  the  vicinity  of 
a  few  large  cities.  During  the  recent  famine,  too,  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  relief  was  accompanied  in  some  places  by  the 
employment  of  the  sufferers  in  the  construction  of  good 
roads.  But,  generally  speaking,  the  national  government 
has  done  nothing  of  consequence  to  supply  the  country 
with  roads,  and  the  villagers  do  only  what  is  absolutely 
indispensable  in  the  repairing  of  the  roads  outside  the 
village  gates.  Now  and  then,  however,  they  are  aided  by 
the  generosity  of  some  well-to-do  resident  who  repairs  a 
bridge  or  builds  a  mile  or  more  of  good  roadway  to  secure 
credit  with  his  gods  and  the  permission  of  the  elders  to 
erect  a  monument  to  himself  by  the  roadside,  recording  his 
good  deed. 

If  a  widow  of  the  village  has  remained  faithful  to  the 
memory  of  her  husband  throughout  a  long  period  of  years 
to  the  day  of  her  death,  the  elders  will  obtain  contributions 
from  the  villagers  and  erect  to  her  memory  an  honorary 
gateway  of  stone  built  across  the  street  near  her  late  home, 
and  inscribe  thereon  a  tribute  to  her  virtue. 


THE  VILLAGE  COURT 

Should  a  quarrel  occur  in  the  village,  the  law  courts 
of  the  district  will  not  be  used  to  settle  it  except  as  a  last 
resort.  A  Chinese  proverb  says : 

The  doors  of  the  Magistrate’s  court  open  wide, 

But  right  that  is  moneyless  does  better  outside. 

The  villager  has  a  wholesome  fear  of  getting  into  the 
clutches  of  the  yamen  runners,  those  underlings  who 
squeeze  plaintiff  and  defendant  alike  upon  pretext  that 
fees  are  required  for  this  service  and  that,  so  that  the 
scripture  is  fulfilled  which  saith : 


128 


The  Village  Republic 


Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly  whiles  thou  art  in  the 
way  with  him,  lest  at  any  time  the  adversary  deliver  thee  to  the 
judge  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to  the  officer  and  thou  be  cast 
into  prison.  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  by  no  means 
come  out  thence  till  thou  hast  paid  the  uttermost  farthing.5 

The  village  elders,  therefore,  use  their  good  offices  to 
reconcile  the  disputants  and  earn  for  themselves  the  reward 
of  the  peace-makers.  They  hear  the  complaint  and  the 
defense,  the  rejoinder  and  the  sur-re joinder.  They  find 
a  middle  ground  on  which  the  parties  to  the  quarrel  may 
meet.  The  law-suit  is  avoided:  the  ill-feeling  is  removed, 
the  principals  and  their  relatives  are  reconciled,  and  the 
whole  village  participates  in  the  feast  with  which  the  event 
is  celebrated.  The  house  of  the  complainant  is  decorated 
with  red  hangings,  and  the  neighbor  against  whom  com¬ 
plaint  was  made  brings  great  bunches  of  fire-crackers  at¬ 
tached  to  a  pole  and  sets  them  off  in  the  gateway.  Thus 
full  atonement  is  made  for  the  alleged  injury  or  affront 
and  everybody  is  happy. 


THE  TEA  HOUSE 

The  village  tea  house  is  an  institution  that  deserves  a 
word.  It  is  the  club,  the  newspaper,  the  vaudeville  of  the 
village,  and  its  saloon.  Usually  it  is  a  restaurant  as  well 
as  a  tea  house.  In  the  early  morning  many  of  the  men  of 
the  village  will  have  their  breakfast  there,  rice  congee  or 
steamed  meat  dumplings  and  plenty  of  tea.  The  tea  is 
served  in  covered  cups.  A  few  leaves  are  placed  in  the  cup, 
boiling  water  is  poured  over  them  and  the  cup  is  covered. 
This  preserves  the  flavor  in  the  tea.  When  the  drinker 
takes  a  sip  he  pushes  the  cover  a  little  to  one  side.  Some¬ 
times  an  extra  cup  is  provided  into  which  the  liquid  is 
poured  after  it  has  acquired  sufficient  strength,  and  the 
cup  with  the  tea  leaves  is  filled  again  with  boiling  water. 

The  old  men  of  the  village  gather  day  by  day  in  the  tea 
house  to  gossip  and  to  smoke  and  to  read  or  listen  to  the 

6  Matt.  v:25,  26. 


The  Village  Republic 


129 


reading  of  the  news,  and  there  the  loafers  come  to  gamble. 
At  irregular  intervals  the  proprietor  will  engage  a  public 
story-teller  to  entertain  his  patrons,  who  pay  merely  for  the 
tea  they  drink.  Many  of  the  illiterate  get  their  history 
from  the  theater  and  the  public  story-teller.  He  is  an 
experienced  elocutionist.  Sometimes  he  is  a  ventriloquist 
as  well.  He  recites  rather  than  reads.  Sometimes  it  is  a 
tale  from  the  novel  called  1  ‘  The  Three  Kingdoms  ’  ’  that  he 
tells.  Or  it  may  be  ‘  ‘  The  Dream  of  the  Red  Chamber,  ’  ’  or 
more  probably  one  of  the  stories  from  the  Shui  Hu,  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  tales  of  gallant  robbers  who  were  champions  of  the 
people  against  their  oppressors — stories  that  remind  one  of 
Robin  Hood  and  his  Merrie  Men.  The  story-teller  sits  be¬ 
hind  a  table  on  a  platform  and  imitates  the  voice  and  man¬ 
ner  of  the  various  characters  in  his  tale — the  grand  air  and 
commanding  tones  of  the  mandarin,  the  shrill  voice  of  the 
virago,  the  soft  utterances  of  the  shy  maiden  or  the  queru¬ 
lous  tremolo  of  the  decrepit  grandsire.  He  mimics  the 
sound  of  the  watchman’s  rattle  and  the  twittering  of  the 
birds  at  dawn,  and,  as  he  unfolds  the  plot,  he  is  encouraged 
now  and  then  by  a  shout  or  grunt  of  approval  from  his 
auditors.  They  nevertheless  keep  up  their  conversation 
with  one  another,  making  a  bargain  over  the  tea-cups  or 
discussing  the  latest  rumors.  A  pair  of  old  cronies  to  whom 
the  story  is  more  than  a  twice-told  tale  have  perhaps  retired 
to  a  corner  to  play  chess.  It  may  be  that  a  group  of  noisy 
youths  in  another  corner  are  staking,  each  a  string  of  cash, 
in  a  game  of  ‘  ‘  Sparrows,  ’  ’  the  game  now  becoming  so  pop¬ 
ular  in  the  United  States  as  ma  jongg.  At  Peking  it  is 
called  ma  cln’iao,  which  is  the  name  of  the  bird  we  call  a 
sparrow.  The  story-teller  is  not  disturbed  by  any  of  these 
things ;  his  story  runs  on  without  interruption  and  without 
any  loss  of  eloquence  on  the  part  of  the  reciter. 

It  is  especially  upon  market  days  that  the  tea  house  is 
made  so  attractive,  for  the  peasants  bring  in  their  produce 
from  the  fields,  and  people  from  neighboring  hamlets  and 
villages  also  are  present.  The  village  market,  which  has 
already  been  described  in  another  chapter,  is  also  under  the 
supervision  of  the  elders.  To  assist  the  peasants  in  remem- 


130 


The  Village  Republic 


bering  the  date  of  a  market  it  is  generally  held  upon  the 
days  of  the  moon  that  have  a  certain  figure  in  the  units 
place,  as  for  instance  on  all  three  and  eight  days,  i.e.,  the 
third,  eighth,  thirteenth,  eighteenth,  twenty-third  and 
twenty-eighth ;  or  on  all  four  and  nine  days,  i.e.,  the  fourth, 
ninth,  fourteenth,  nineteenth,  twenty-fourth  and  twenty- 
ninth.  The  elders  of  neighboring  villages  arrange  the  dates 
of  the  markets  so  that  no  two  villages  will  have  markets  the 
same  day. 

THE  VILLAGE  TEMPLE 

The  elders  must  attend  also  to  the  upkeep  of  the  village 
temple,  provide  a  care-taker  and  see  that  the  offerings  are 
made  at  the  proper  times.  In  some  villages  there  are  fields 
set  aside  for  the  support  of  the  temple  worship,  i.e.,  com¬ 
mons,  the  produce  or  rent  of  which  belongs  to  the  com¬ 
munity. 

These  temples  are  sometimes  dedicated  to  one  divinity, 
sometimes  to  another.  It  may  be  to  a  Taoist  deity  or  a 
Buddhist  saint.  In  some  cases  it  is  dedicated  to  the  San 
Chiao,  i.e.,  the  “ Three  Religions,”  Confucianism,  Buddhism 
and  Taoism.  The  ordinary  Chinese  is  a  liberal  minded  man. 
“All  religions  are  the  same,”  he  says.  “They  all  exhort 
men  to  do  good.  ’  ’  I  remember  well  such  a  temple  called  the 
San  Shan  An,  or  the  “Abbey  of  the  Three  Mountains.” 
Located,  as  the  abbey  was,  in  a  valley  in  sight  of  three 
mountains,  the  name  was  very  appropriate,  but  it  probably 
was  intended  to  have  a  double  significance,  since  “The 
mountain”  or  “The  mountain  gate”  is  a  common  synonym 
for  “the  monastery.”  Over  the  portico  and  on  the  pillars 
that  supported  it  were  appropriate  mottoes  teaching  the 
unity  of  the  human  race  and  the  common  faith  that  under¬ 
lies  all  differences  of  religion. 

In  most  villages  there  will  be  a  temple  to  the  T’u  Ti  Lao 
Yeh,  or  the  deity  of  the  locality.  The  Chinese  divide  the 
underworld  into  provinces,  counties  and  townships  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  divisions  of  China,  so  that  each  village  is 
supposed  to  have  its  counterpart  in  the  world  of  shadows, 
and  the  shadowy  village  to  have  its  ti-pao  just  as  the  one 


The  Village  Republic 


131 


on  earth  has.  The  T’u  Ti  Lao  Yeh  is  the  ghostly  ti-pao. 
When  a  man  dies  he  goes  to  his  own  place,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  family  to  notify  the  T’u  Ti  Lao  Yeh  of  his 
coming. 

This  deity  is  supposed  to  look  after  the  welfare  also  of 
his  community  in  the  upper  world.  If  there  are  good  crops 
and  corresponding  comfort  in  the  home,  the  god  is  rewarded 
by  offerings  of  incense  and  candles,  but  if  otherwise  the 
Chinese  are  not  unwilling  at  times  to  treat  the  image  of 
their  deity  with  considerable  disrespect.  I  recall  a  visita¬ 
tion  of  locusts  many  years  ago  in  central  China,  which 
spared  the  garden  of  a  poor  widow.  She  showed  her  grati¬ 
tude  by  incense  and  candles  offered  at  the  shrine  of  the 
T’u  Ti  Lao  Yeh  of  the  district.  The  next  day  a  second 
swarm  of  locusts  appeared  and  devoured  all  her  growing 
vegetables.  Then  in  her  wrath  'she  went  to  the  shrine  and, 
shaking  her  fist  at  the  idol  she  cursed  the  god  for  his 
neglect.  Small  shrines  to  this  deity  are  often  seen  in  the 
fields  or  along  the  highways.  The  written  character  for 
sun  appears  sometimes  in  one  gable  of  the  little  building 
and  that  for  the  moon  in  the  other.  Frequently  instead 
of  these  you  find  the  yin  yang  symbol,  i.e.  the  circle  divided 
by  a  curved  line  into  two  portions,  one  white  the  other 
black.  On  the  face  of  the  shrine  a  common  motto  is  ‘  ‘  Ask 
and  ye  shall  receive.” 

The  village  temple  is  not  only  a  temple  but  the  town  half 
as  well,  where  public  meetings  of  the  villagers  are  held.  It 
is  also  commonly  used  for  the  ancestral  tablets  of  those 
families  too  poor  to  maintain  a  proper  ancestral  hall.  Cof¬ 
fins  are  frequently  stored  in  it,  both  those  which  are  bought 
against  the  day  of  death  by  the  well-to-do  householder  who 
wants  to  be  fully  prepared  to  die,  and  those  of  the  dead, 
which  are  guarded  by  the  care-taker  or  the  monk  in  charge 
until  a  lucky  site  for  the  grave  and  a  lucky  day  for  burial 
have  been  selected  by  the  local  soothsayers. 

Where  all  the  people  of  a  village  are  worshipers  in 
these  temples  there  is  no  difficulty  in  laying  assessments 
for  their  upkeep,  but  when  a  family  has  become  converted 
to  Christianity  it  will  refuse  to  pay  the  assessments,  and 


132 


The  Village  Republic 


this  at  once  creates  trouble.  To  the  idolater  the  refusal  of 
the  Christian  seems  but  a  subterfuge  to  escape  taxation, 
and  the  convert  in  his  zeal  often  adds  fuel  to  the  flame 
of  discontent  by  ridiculing  the  mud  gods  and  their  wor¬ 
shipers.  The  Chinese  have  been  accustomed  in  many 
places,  however,  to  the  presence  of  Mohammedans,  who  also 
refuse  to  support  the  worship  of  images,  and  it  has  always 
been  possible  to  arrange  a  compromise  by  which  the  non¬ 
worshiper  contributes  an  extra  sum  for  some  other  public 
enterprise  in  lieu  of  the  temple  assessment. 

More  serious  trouble  occurs  when  the  villages  of  differ¬ 
ent  faiths  fall  to  fighting  one  with  another.  Such  conflicts 
have  unfortunately  taken  place  between  Roman  Catholic 
and  Protestant  converts.  The  origin  of  the  feud  is  some¬ 
times  unknown  to  the  missionary,  who  has  been  uncon¬ 
sciously  made  a  party  to  an  ancient  quarrel.  Some  years 
ago  a  well-known  British  missionary  escaped  the  toils  of 
such  a  plot  by  his  extreme  caution.  He  was  visited  one 
day  by  the  elders  of  a  village  in  which  some  Christian  work 
had  been  done.  The  elders  informed  him  that  the  whole 
village  desired  to  become  Christian.  That  seemed  so  re¬ 
markable  that  the  missionary  made  an  investigation  and 
discovered  that  the  village  had  a  feud  with  another  village 
in  the  same  neighborhood  which  had  a  large  number  of 
Roman  Catholics  in  its  population.  The  elders  of  the  first 
village  had  decided  that  if  they  should  all  become  Protes¬ 
tants  they  might  claim  that  they  were  being  persecuted 
for  their  faith’s  sake,  and  so  obtain  the  protection  of  the 
British  Government.  The  American  Legation  at  Peking 
has  had  to  report  a  number  of  quarrels  between  Protestants 
and  Roman  Catholics  in  which  its  good  offices  were  sought 
by  the  missionaries.  The  author  was  sent  by  the  American 
Minister  one  winter  to  investigate  such  a  quarrel  which  had 
involved  a  number  of  villages  in  the  province  of  Chihli. 
It  was  discovered  that  some  crops  had  been  destroyed,  some 
animals  killed,  a  few  houses  burned,  grain  carried  off  and 
a  number  of  people  injured.  Old  grudges  and  personal  ani¬ 
mosities,  rather  than  religious  differences,  seemed  to  be 
the  real  sources  of  trouble. 


The  Village  Republic 


133 


THE  GUEST  HOUSE 

On  this  journey  acquaintance  was  made  with  the  village 
guest  house,  which  was  found  to  be  a  very  beneficent  institu¬ 
tion.  The  village  inn  is  not  always  clean  and  lacks  many 
comforts  and  all  privacy.  The  guest  house  was  well  built 
and  provided  with  fuel,  food  and  servants.  It  gave  us  the 
warmth,  quiet  and  rest  that  were  most  desirable  after  a 
weary  ride  of  ten  miles  in  a  sedan  on  a  bitter  winter’s 
day.  The  guest  house  was  built  by  the  village  as  a  place 
for  the  entertainment  of  officials  or  other  visitors  who  had 
to  pass  that  way,  and  was  a  credit  to  the  elders  who  had 
initiated  the  enterprise. 


THE  VILLAGE  SCHOOL 

The  elders  must  also  provide  a  school  for  the  children  of 
the  village.  If  possible  a  local  scholar  is  engaged  as 
teacher.  The  small  pittance  which  is  his  salary  is  obtained 
by  assessment  upon  those  families  whose  children  attend 
the  school. 

An  edict  of  the  late  Empress  Dowager,  Tzu-hsi,  in  1905, 
adopted  a  public  school  system  for  the  whole  country,  and 
directed  that  an  examination  should  be  made  of  community 
temples  which,  if  found  suitable,  were  to  be  taken  for 
village  school-houses,  unless  other  provision  could  be  made 
by  any  village  concerned.  This  would  not,  of  course,  re¬ 
quire  the  removal  of  the  idols,  but,  as  a  matter  of  history 
it  is  worth  recording  that  in  not  a  few  instances  the  idols 
were  taken  out  and  thrown  into  the  rubbish  heap  to  make 
room  for  pupils  and  teacher.  The  curriculum,  too,  was 
determined  by  edict.  The  school  system  adopted  provides 
for  a  lower  and  an  upper  primary  school  in  every  village, 
and  requires  every  village  of  100  families  or  more  to  main¬ 
tain  at  least  one  primary  school.  These  schools  are  to  teach 
arithmetic  and  geography,  history  and  elementary  science, 
as  well  as  reading  and  writing.  But  it  is  still  impossible 
to  find  the  number  of  teachers  needed  who  are  qualified  to 


134 


The  Village  Republic 


teach  all  these  branches.  Under  the  old  system,  which 
made  education  largely  a  private  interest,  and  which  re¬ 
quired  of  the  pupil  nothing  but  the  ability  to  read  and 
write  Chinese  and  to  expound  the  classics  in  order  to  obtain 
entrance  to  the  civil  service,  the  teacher  as  a  rule  knew 
nothing  else.  A  district  magistrate,  who  was,  of  course,  a 
graduate,  once  asked  me:  “Is  it  true  that  the  world  is 
round?”  I  assured  him  that  it  was  but  he  shook  his  head 
in  doubt. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  public  school  system  some 
villages  have  diverted  for  the  support  of  the  village  school 
the  funds  the  proceeds  of  which  have  in  the  past  been  used 
for  the  village  theater. 


THE  THEATER 

The  theater  is  not,  as  one  might  imagine,  a  public  hall, 
provided  with  seats  for  the  spectators  and  a  stage  and 
dressing  room  for  the  players.  Sometimes  there  is  no  build¬ 
ing  at  all,  but  merely  a  temporary  platform  made  for  the 
occasion.  At  best  there  is  a  covered  stage  with  dressing 
rooms.  This  is  built  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  so  that  the 
villagers  can  seat  themselves  on  the  hillside  and  look  down 
towards  the  stage.  Sometimes  it  is  placed  in  front  of  a 
Buddhist  monastery,  and  the  play  becomes  a  part  of  the 
festival  in  honor  of  the  Buddha  or  the  Buddhist  saints  that 
are  worshiped  there.  The  plays  are  thus  given  in  the 
open  air  and  are  free  to  all  comers.  The  players  are  paid 
by  the  elders,  who  either  use  the  proceeds  of  a  fund  devoted 
to  this  purpose  or  raise  the  necessary  money  by  private 
subscriptions. 

The  actors  theoretically  form  one  of  the  despised  classes 
in  China.  Under  the  old  regime  they  and  their  descendants 
for  three  generations  were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  exami¬ 
nations  for  the  civil  service.  They  were  classed  with  beg¬ 
gars,  barbers,  butchers  and  chair-bearers,  who,  because  of 
the  menial  services  performed  or,  in  the  case  of  butchers, 
because  they  were  familiar  with  the  sight  of  blood,  were 
regarded  as  unfit  to  hold  office. 


The  Village  Republic 


135 


There  were  always  ways  of  removing  the  handicap,  how¬ 
ever,  if  one  were  eager  to  enter  the  service,  for  he  could 
be  adopted  as  a  son  by  someone  who  was  free  from  the 
disqualification. 

The  drama  in  China  found  its  highest  development  dur¬ 
ing  the  Mongol  Dynasty  (A.D.  1260-1368).  The  plays  are 
mostly  of  a  historical  character,  but  the  amusing  farce  is 
not  lacking.  As  a  rule  the  tone  is  highly  moral,  but  there 
are  exceptions.  The  lessons  of  filial  piety  and  loyalty  are 
emphasized  and  virtue  always  finds  its  due  reward. 


TAKING  THE  CENSUS 

One  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  elders  is  the 
taking  of  the  census.  This  is  supposed  to  be  reported  every 
fifth  year  to  the  Ministry  of  Finance  at  Peking.  A  blank 
form  is  posted  at  the  door  of  every  house,  and  the  number 
of  males  and  females  in  the  household,  including  the  serv¬ 
ants,  is  written  plainly  on  the  card.  This  is  open  to  in¬ 
spection  by  anyone  interested  so  that,  if  a  false  return 
is  made,  the  neighbors  may  be  able  to  report  it.  In  the 
smaller  villages,  of  course,  the  elders  know  every  one  and 
can  themselves  check  the  returns :  in  the  large  villages  the 
tithing-man  certainly  will  know  the  facts.  In  the  early 
years  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  there  was  a  poll  tax  levied, 
and  the  returns  were  therefore  of  considerable  importance. 
This  subsequently  was  combined  with  the  land  tax.  In 
those  days  there  was  a  disposition,  no  doubt,  to  conceal  the 
real  number  of  adult  males  in  a  household,  but  no  such 
inducement  exists  to-day.  Among  the  Manchus,  however, 
as  long  as  the  dynasty  lasted,  there  was  a  temptation  to 
pad  the  returns  in  order  to  draw  the  pensions  which  were 
paid  to  every  Manchu  male.  I  was  told  by  a  Manchu  at 
the  time  of  the  Revolution  in  1912  that  the  names  of  many 
persons  long  dead  were  still  carried  on  the  rolls  of  some 
of  the  banners.  This  seems  quite  credible. 


136 


The  Village  Republic 


COLLECTING  TAXES 

The  land  tax  assessed  upon  the  cultivated  fields,  the  reed 
tax — a  small  payment  made  by  those  who  cut  the  reeds 
from  the  public  lands  in  the  marshes  along  the  foreshore 
of  certain  rivers — the  salt  tax,  the  excise  on  distilled  liquors 
and  tobacco,  and  the  likin  collected  along  the  highways  and 
water-ways  on  goods  in  transit — all  these  have  to  be  paid 
by  the  villagers,  but  the  money  goes  into  the  provincial  and 
national  treasuries.  The  village  gets  nothing  from  these 
sources  for  its  expenses.  There  is  only  one  national  tax 
upon  which  it  can  draw,  and  that  is  but  a  recent  provision. 
A  tax  levied  upon  transfers  of  real  estate  is  allotted  for 
the  support  of  the  public  schools,  authorized  in  1905.  This, 
however,  is  wholly  inadequate  for  that  purpose.  Thus  the 
village  must  tax  itself  for  the  payment  of  road  repairs, 
street  lighting,  police,  salaries  of  the  elders,  when  they  are 
allowed  salaries  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  and  for  the 
temple,  the  school  and  the  theater,  unless  any  of  these  are 
supported  by  permanent  funds.  The  assessment  for  these 
purposes  is  made  and  collected  by  the  elders. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  village  is  a  self-governing 
community,  a  little  republic  which  has  existed  for  ages, 
formerly  in  the  midst  of  an  empire  and  to-day  as  part  of 
a  larger  republic,  the  State.  Thus  the  village,  as  well 
as  the  clan,  has  given  the  people  experience  in  self-govern¬ 
ment,  and  helped  in  their  preparation  for  the  establishment 
of  representative  institutions. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  CITY 

The  cities  are  full  of  pride, 

Challenging,  each  to  each — 

This  from  her  mountainside, 

That  from  her  burthened  beach. 

And  the  men  that  breed  from  them 
They  traffic  up  and  down, 

But  cling  to  their  cities  ’  hem 
As  a  child  to  the  mother’s  gown. 

Kipling. 

In  China  the  word  most  commonly  used  as  the  equivalent 
of  “city”  is  ch’eng.  Strictly  speaking  the  word  means 
“a  city  wall”  or  “rampart,”  and  it  is  applied  as  a  rule 
only  to  those  towns  which  are  surrounded  by  a  substantial 
brick  wall  and  a  moat.  The  place  of  lowest  rank  that  may 
be  called  a  city  is  the  hsien,  the  capital  of  a  county.  Any 
town  which  is  the  seat  of  government  of  an  officer  of  the 
rank  of  a  county  magistrate  or  above  it  may  be  called  a 
ck’eng.  There  are  market  towns  and  villages  in  China 
which  are  larger  and  of  greater  commercial  importance 
than  some  cities,  but  it  is  political  importance  that  gives 
a  place  the  rank  of  a  city. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  CITIES 

Every  province  is  divided  into  hsien ,  or  counties.  Form¬ 
erly  several  hsien  were  united  in  one  district,  called  a  fu, 
or  prefecture,  and  the  capital  of  such  a  district  was  also 
called  a  fu  or  fu  ch’eng.  It  was,  of  course,  the  official  resi¬ 
dence  of  the  prefect,  but  also  that  of  the  two  or  three 
county  magistrates  subordinate  to  the  prefect.  Since  the 
establishment  of  the  republic  this  political  division  has 

137 


138 


The  City 


been  discarded,  although  the  name,  fu,  is  still  retained 
in  common  use.  Under  the  empire  a  circuit  of  cities  was 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  an  officer  called  a  taot’ai, 
or  “intendant  of  circuit,”  who  possessed  military  as  well 
as  civil  rank.  This  office  is  retained  to-day  under  the  re¬ 
public,  but  it  is  known  as  that  of  taoyin.  Practically  it  is 
a  combination  of  the  two  offices  of  prefect  and  taot’ai. 

The  county  is  subdivided  into  ssu,  or  townships,  and 
these  into  pao  or  tu,  that  is  to  say,  1  ‘  wards  ”  or  “  villages.  ’  ’ 
But  the  city  includes  only  the  wards  enclosed  within  the 
walls. 


THE  WALLS 

These  great  walls  of  grey  brick,  sometimes  with  pre¬ 
lecting  bastions,  always  with  crenellated  parapets,  give  the 
cities  of  China  a  picturesque  appearance.  They  rise  from 
25  to  60  feet  in  the  air  and  are  weather-worn  and  often 
over-grown  here  and  there  with  vines  and  shrubbery. 

They  have  a  core  of  earth,  and  in  the  days  when  they 
were  built  they  were  a  strong  defense  against  besieging 
forces.  Even  to-day,  if  furnished  with  modern  artillery 
and  properly  manned  they  could  give  an  attacking  army 
a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

The  gates  are  closed  at  night.  When  the  watchman 
makes  his  round  about  nine  o’clock  the  gate-keeper  swings 
one  of  the  pair  of  great  doors  into  place  and  lights  a  stick 
of  incense.  As  long  as  the  incense  burns  the  other  door 
is  left  ajar  for  late  comers,  but  when  the  incense  is  burned 
out  the  gate  is  locked  and  cannot  be  opened  until  day-break, 
except  in  obedience  to  official  orders. 

While  living  in  the  foreign  settlement  at  Shanghai  I 
was  invited  to  attend  the  service  in  the  Confucian  Temple, 
which  is  within  the  native  city.  The  service  is  held  about 
three  or  four  o’clock  in  the  morning.  To  enter  the  city 
at  such  an  hour  was  impossible  without  a  pass.  The 
Taotai  sent  me  a  gate  tally.  It  was  a  polished  piece  of 
wood  about  15  inches  long  on  which  there  appeared  one- 
half  of  an  inscription  which  could  not  be  read  until  the 


The  City 


139 


counterpart  of  the  tally  was  placed  alongside,  for  the  in¬ 
scription  had  been  written  over  the  joint.  When  the  two 
parts  were  joined  the  inscription  proved  to  be  a  permit 
to  open  the  city  gate.  At  three  o’clock  in  the  morning  I 
presented  it  at  the  West  Gate  and,  after  a  brief  delay, 
was  admitted. 

To  the  skillful  climber  the  walls  are  not  such  an  obstacle 
as  they  appear  to  be  to  the  ordinary  man.  At  the  time  of 
the  “Boxer”  Rising  in  1900,  when  the  American  army  of 
relief  reached  the  city  of  Peking  where  the  foreign  Lega¬ 
tions  were  besieged,  an  American  drummer  boy  clambered 
up  one  corner  of  the  wall  of  the  outer  city.  Each  course 
of  brick  is  set  in  about  a  half  inch  from  the  edge  of  the 
course  below  it,  thus  giving  the  wall  a  slight  incline  away 
from  the  perpendicular.  The  storms  of  centuries  had  also 
worn  holes  here  and  there  in  the  bricks.  With  one  man 
up  the  ascent  of  others  was  made  easier,  and  the  little  squad 
of  men,  although  under  fire,  were  able  to  get  down  on  the 
inside  and  open  a  gate  and  admit  the  army. 

The  various  foreign  governments  keep  legation  guards 
at  Peking.  That  of  the  United  States  is  composed  of 
marines  and  numbers  usually  between  two  and  three  hun¬ 
dred.  It  was  a  common  practice  in  the  years  1911-13  for 
the  officers  of  this  guard  to  call  for  volunteers  to  scale 
the  city  wall  which  bounds  the  American  Legation  grounds 
on  the  south.  It  is  fifty  feet  high,  yet  as  many  as  forty 
men  would  respond  and  accomplish  the  feat  very  success¬ 
fully  and  expeditiously. 

At  present  there  is  a  disposition  among  the  Chinese  to 
destroy  the  old  city  walls.  This  is  unfortunate.  The  first 
place  to  lose  its  walls  was  Tientsin,  a  city  of  some  700,000 
inhabitants.  The  destruction  of  its  wall  was  a  penalty  im¬ 
posed  by  the  allied  governments  because  of  Tientsin’s  par¬ 
ticipation  in  the  “Boxer”  attacks  upon  Europeans  and 
Americans.  The  people  of  Tientsin  and  the  officers  of  the 
national  government  resisted  the  demand  for  a  long  time, 
and  only  consented  under  compulsion,  for  the  loss  of  the 
walls  was  regarded  at  that  time  as  a  disgrace  to  the  city. 
The  walls  were  torn  down  in  1903,  and  the  debris  was  used 


140 


The  City 


to  fill  up  the  moat.  On  the  site  of  wall  and  moat  a  beautiful, 
wide  boulevard  with  a  street  car  line  was  constructed.  This 
was  so  attractive  that  other  cities  began  to  imitate.  Shang¬ 
hai  and  Canton  took  the  lead  in  so  doing.  In  the  case  of 
these  two  cities  the  destruction  of  the  walls  is  probably 
an  improvement  to  sanitary  conditions,  for  the  streets  are 
narrow  ai\d  the  locations  are  low  and  damp.  The  removal 
of  the  walls  has  let  in  air  and  sunlight.  But  for  most 
places  the  destruction  of  the  walls  would  lessen  the  attrac¬ 
tiveness  of  the  city  and  be  of  no  compensating  advantage, 
either  to  sanitation  or  to  transport.  To  destroy  such  walls 
as  those  of  Peking  or  Nanking,  of  Wuchang,  Chengtu,  or 
a  hundred  other  places  that  might  be  named,  would  be  a 
crime.  It  is  encouraging  to  see  the  Chinese  people  showing 
a  progressive  spirit,  but  mere  imitation  of  the  West  is  not 
necessarily  progress. 


GENERAL  APPEARANCE  OF  CITIES 

Seen  from  the  top  of  a  city  wall  the  Chinese  city,  as  a 
rule,  does  not  present  a  very  interesting  appearance.  The 
prospect  is  one  of  dark  grey  gabled  roofs  covering  grey 
brick  buildings.  Here  and  there  will  be  seen  an  open  space 
overgrown  with  grass  and  weeds. 

Most  houses  are  of  one  story;  a  few  have  two  stories; 
fewer  have  three.  The  monotony  of  the  view  is  broken 
only  by  the  trees  that  rise  above  the  garden  walls,  or  by 
an  occasional  pagoda.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this 
rule  of  a  drab  and  uninviting  appearance.  The  north¬ 
western  part  of  Nanking,  for  instance,  consists  very  largely 
of  rolling  hills,  devoted  to  temples,  bamboo  groves  and 
market  gardens.  This  is  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  when 
the  founder  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  made  it  his  capital 
(A.D.  1368),  he  extended  the  city  wall  on  the  north  and 
west  so  as  to  enclose  a  larger  area.  The  remains  of  the 
old  wall  and  moat  can  still  be  seen.  The  wall  of  Nanking 
thus  became  the  longest  in  the  empire,  having  a  circuit  of 
about  26  miles,  the  territory  that  was  added  in  this  way 


The  City  141 

to  the  city  was  never  closely  built  over  and  retains  a  rural 
appearance. 

Peking  is  unlike  all  other  cities.  Not  only  are  the  walls 
more  massive ;  they  are  strengthened  by  enormous  bastions, 
and  protected  at  the  corners  and  at  the  gates  by  towers 
that  rise  200  feet  in  the  air.  As  one  approaches  the  city 
from  any  side  and  beholds  these  lofty  towers,  the  bastions 
and  parapets,  he  can  not  but  be  impressed  by  its  appear¬ 
ance.  And  when  one  stands  upon  the  wall  he  finds  a  very 
attractive  prospect.  He  looks  down  upon  four  cities,  each 
enclosed  by  its  own  wall.  In  the  center  are  the  yellow 
roofs  of  the  palaces,  shining  like  gold  in  the  sunlight.  En¬ 
closing  these  palaces  is  a  grey  brick  wall  some  forty  feet 
in  height.  Outside  of  this  is  the  Imperial  City,  surrounded 
by  what  the  Chinese  call  a  “ purple  wall.”  Within  the 
Imperial  City  are  the  lakes  of  the  Western  Park,  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  palace,  the  Marble  Bridge,  the  Finger  Pagoda,  the 
Prospect  Hill,  and  many  beautiful  temples  and  other  public 
buildings.  Surrounding  the  Imperial  City  is  the  Tartar 
City,  enclosed  by  a  wall  fourteen  and  a  half  miles  in  cir¬ 
cuit,  fifty  feet  in  height,  and  fifty  in  thickness  at  the  top. 
Within  this  enclosure  are  the  homes  of  the  people,  shops 
and  temples,  the  Drum  Tower  and  the  beautiful  Bell 
Tower,  the  White  Dagoba,  the  Twin  Pagodas,  several  lama¬ 
series,  princely  palaces,  the  foreign  legations  and  the  mis¬ 
sion  churches  with  their  spires. 

On  the  south  you  look  over  into  the  “Chinese  City”  and 
catch  a  view  of  the  blue-tiled  tower  of  the  Temple  of 
Heaven,  and,  over  in  the  south-west,  the  pagoda  of  the  Tien 
Ning  Monastery,  which  was  built  in  the  sixth  century  A.D. 
In  the  distance  rise  the  hills  which  extend  in  a  horseshoe 
curve  around  the  city  on  the  west,  north  and  east,  and 
give  to  the  plain  of  Peking,  in  the  eyes  of  the  geomantic 
expert,  its  assurance  of  happiness  and  prosperity. 


THE  STREETS 

The  principal  thoroughfares  of  Peking  are  broad  avenues 
a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  width,  that  cross  one  another 


142 


The  City 


at  right  angles.  The  lanes,  20  to  40  feet  in  width,  are 
also  for  the  most  part  quite  regular,  but  there  are  some 
exceptions. 

Generally  speaking,  in  the  northern  part  of  China  the 
streets  of  a  city  are  wide  and  unpaved,  but  Peking  and 
a  few  other  places  have  macadamized  the  principal  streets. 

In  central  and  southern  China  the  city  streets  are 
crooked  and  much  narrower  than  in  the  north.  They  are 
from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  width  and  are  paved  with  brick 
and  stone.  The  shop  fronts  are  usually  open,  exposing  the 
whole  interior.  In  the  summer  time  the  business  streets 
are  shaded  by  mats  that  rest  on  poles  stretching  from  one 
side  of  the  street  to  the  other,  and  giving  it  the  appearance 
of  a  bazaar.  Like  most  old-world  cities,  those  of  China 
grew  up  at  a  time  when  sanitary  science  was  unknown. 
Peking  has  a  system  of  sewers  which  was  constructed  in 
the  Ming  period  (A.D.  1368-1644),  but  they  are  not  water¬ 
tight,  and  were  evidently  intended  originally  merely  to 
carry  off  surface  water  from  the  streets  into  the  city  moat. 
There  are  gutters  for  this  purpose  under  the  pavements  of 
southern  towns.  Night-soil  is  carried  by  coolies  in  open 
buckets  from  city  closets  out  into  the  country,  where  it  is 
mixed  by  the  farmers  with  wood  ashes  and  used  as  a  fer¬ 
tilizer. 

The  city  is  districted  by  chance,  each  district  taking  its 
name  from  some  local  landmark,  such  as  the  Three  Honor¬ 
ary  Gateways,  the  Confucian  Temple,  the  West  Water 
Gate,  the  Drum  Tower  East  or  the  Drum  Tower  West,  the 
Temple  of  Ancient  Worthies,  or  the  Sweet  Water  Fountain. 
The  streets  of  each  district  are  named  without  regard  to 
the  names  existing  in  other  parts  of  the  city,  so  that  you 
are  likely  to  find  names  duplicated.  The  same  street,  too, 
will  have  different  names  in  different  districts.  Such  con¬ 
fusion  exists,  it  is  true,  in  other  countries  than  China.  The 
origin  of  most  of  the  street  names  is  lost  in  obscurity.  They 
have  been  named  from  circumstances  that  no  longer  exist. 
We  have  in  Peking:  Sheep-Pen  Lane,  Linen  Thread  Lane, 
and  Filial  Piety  Alley,  although  there  is  now  no  sheep 
pen  to  be  found  and  linen  thread  is  not  made  in  the  place 


The  City 


143 


indicated.  Neither  do  we  know  whose  filial  piety  is  com¬ 
memorated.  The  true  name  of  Legation  Street  is  “  Alley 
of  the  Tributaries,  ’  ’  which  is  reminiscent  of  the  days  when 
Korean,  Loochooan  and  Annamite,  Siamese  and  Burmese 
foregathered  in  the  hostelries  there,  and  when  European 
embassies  were  placed  in  the  same  category  and  the  kotow 
was  demanded  of  their  chiefs. 

The  ‘  ‘  Mouth  of  the  Lamp  Market  ’  ’  means  nothing  to  the 
residents  of  that  place  to-day.  At  various  places  along  the 
principal  avenues  in  Peking,  and  in  the  open  spaces  of  some 
other  cities,  ornamental  gate-ways  are  erected.  They  are 
usually  of  wood  and  richly  decorated  with  red  lacquer  and 
gold.  Uj)on  them  in  gilded  characters  there  is  inscribed 
on  one  side  of  the  street  such  a  sentiment  as  “Walk  in 
Charity,”  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  “Tread 
the  path  of  righteousness.  ’  ’  On  one  gate-way  will  appear ; 
“Support  the  civil  authorities,”  on  its  companion;  “Assist 
the  military.”  The  panels  of  one  exhort  us  to  “Make 
daily  improvement,”  those  of  its  counterpart  to  obtain 
‘  ‘  Monthly  advancement.  ’  ’ 


HOMES 

One  sees  nothing  from  the  street  of  the  beauty  of  a 
Chinese  home.  When  you  leave  the  business  quarter  and 
turn  down  a  lane,  you  are  shut  in  by  high  brick  walls 
on  either  side  of  the  way.  There  are  rarely  any  windows 
to  be  seen.  The  only  openings,  as  a  rule,  are  the  gate-ways, 
through  which  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  screen  or  the  brick 
wall  of  an  inner  court.  On  the  lintel  of  the  gate-way  a 
motto  is  posted.  It  may  be :  “  The  Five  Happinesses  come 
from  Heaven,”  or  “Chiang  T’ai  Kung  is  here;  we  do  not 
fear  a  hundred  devils.  ’  ’  The  ‘  ‘  Five  Happinesses  ’  ’  are  Chil¬ 
dren,  Official  Emoluments,  Long  Life,  Wealth,  and  Pleasure. 
Chiang  T’ai  Kung  was  an  ancient  worthy  who  canonized 
so  many  men,  even  his  enemies,  that  to-day  he  is  regarded 
as  a  maker  of  gods  and  therefore  more  powerful  than 
demons.  On  the  gates  of  the  house  are  other  mottoes.  One 
of  the  most  common  is :  “  Blessing  for  the  State,  Happiness 


144 


The  City 


for  the  Family,  Long  Life  for  the  Individual,  Abundance 
for  the  Year.”  The  servants’  quarters  and  often  the 
kitchen  also  are  next  to  the  street.  When  you  pass  through 
the  gate  you  are  met  by  the  gate-man,  who  takes  your 
card  and  escorts  you  from  the  front  court  into  a  second. 
This  is  frequently  bordered  on  three  sides  by  a  corridor. 
Sometimes  there  are  rooms  upon  the  right  and  left.  Gen¬ 
erally  the  reception  hall  is  directly  in  front  of  you  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  court  as  you  enter.  If  possible,  this, 
the  principal  hall  of  the  house,  faces  the  south.  It  will 
never  open  to  the  north  if  that  can  be  avoided,  for  that  is 
the  side  of  darkness.  Three  large  door-ways,  each  closed 
by  a  pair  of  doors,  occupy  the  middle  of  the  fagade.  The 
upper  half  of  the  whole  front,  including  the  doors,  is  of 
lattice  work,  sometimes  beautifully  carved.  Formerly  the 
lattices  were  covered  with  paper  or  ground  shells;  to-day 
they  are  frequently  glazed.  The  roofs  are  curved  and  cov¬ 
ered  with  dark  tiles  in  roll  and  pan  fashion.  The  cornices 
are  painted  in  bright  colors. 

The  walls  of  the  interior  are  covered  with  interesting 
scrolls.  On  the  side  opposite  the  entrance  is  the  raised  dais 
for  the  seat  of  honor.  It  is  covered  with  cushions  and  di¬ 
vided  into  two  parts  by  a  low  tea  table.  When  one  enters 
he  takes  a  chair  near  the  door.  When  the  host  enters  he 
will  invite  him  to  “come  up  higher,”  and  will  place  him 
on  his  left  on  the  dais.  Often  the  partitions  between  the 
rooms  are  of  precious  wood  richly  carved;  sometimes  they 
are  of  grille  work  backed  by  bright-colored  silk.  The 
sandal-wood  used  in  the  palaces  is  sometimes  inlaid  with 
cloisonne.  In  the  homes  of  the  wealthy  there  are  cabinets 
stored  with  rare  pieces  of  porcelain,  ancient  bronzes,  and 
carved  lacquer.  On  some  of  the  walls  will  be  seen  cele¬ 
brated  paintings.  The  floors  are  covered  with  rich  rugs 
of  silk  or  camel’s  hair.  Blackwood  screens,  embroidered 
hangings  and  other  articles  of  beauty  bear  witness  to  the 
taste  of  the  owner. 

Behind  the  main  hall  is  another  court  with  the  private 
quarters  of  the  host  and  his  family.  Other  courts  open 
on  the  right  and  left,  and  if  he  be  a  wealthy  man  there 


The  City 


145 


will  be  extensive  gardens  with  rockeries,  ponds  of  water, 
picturesque  bridges,  dwarfed  trees  and  beautiful  flowers. 
In  the  garden  there  will  be  pleasant  pavilions  where,  if  you 
are  an  intimate  friend,  you  will  be  invited  to  smoke  and 
drink  tea. 


RECREATION  GROUNDS 

Public  gardens,  parks  and  recreation  grounds  are  con¬ 
spicuous  by  their  absence.  Only  in  recent  years,  under 
the  influence  of  Western  example,  a  few  parks  have  been 
opened  to  the  public,  and  here  and  there  a  zoological 
garden.  Peking  is  rich  in  temple  grounds  that  can  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  One  public  park  with  an  interesting 
museum  has  been  opened  in  the  court  of  the  She  Chi  T  ’an, 
that  is  the  “Altar  to  the  Guardian  Spirits  of  the  Land 
and  Harvests.  ’  ’ 

In  all  large  cities  there  will  be  found  certain  open  spaces 
where  the  crowds  love  to  gather  for  holiday  making.  The 
Liu-li  Ch’ang,  or  “Crystal  Market,”  in  Peking  is  a  popular 
resort  of  this  kind.  The  open  plaza  between  the  Temple 
of  Heaven  and  the  Temple  of  Agriculture  is  another.  The 
bank  of  the  canal  near  the  Confucian  Temple  in  Nanking 
is  also  a  noted  meeting  place.  Fashionable  tea  houses  are 
located  there.  Hangchow  is  fortunate  in  having  outside 
its  walls  the  West  Lake,  which  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water 
surrounded  by  picturesque  hills.  Tea  houses  and  temples 
are  built  upon  its  shores  and  pleasure  barges  float  on  its 
waters.  In  many  towns  the  City  Temple  is  a  gathering 
place  of  merry-makers.  In  Soochow  it  is  also  an  art  gal¬ 
lery.  Exhibition  for  sale  is  made  there  of  the  work  of 
present-day  painters,  much  of  it  of  a  very  high  order. 

THE  CITY  TEMPLE 

The  City  Temple  is  dedicated  to  the  tutelary  guardian  of 
the  place.  There  is  a  representation  in  the  temple  of  the 
ten  wards  of  hell,  each  with  its  presiding  judge  passing 
sentence  upon  evil  doers.  Around  the  judge  are  gathered 
his  lictors,  the  devils  who  execute  the  sentences  passed. 


146 


The  City 


The  images  are  frequently  of  life  size.  The  tortures  of  the 
damned  vary  in  each  ward.  Some  are  being  sawn  asunder, 
others  are  being  pounded  to  a  jelly  in  a  mortar.  Some 
are  made  to  embrace  a  red-hot  cylinder.  Others  are  being 
flayed.  Some,  after  punishment,  are  being  transformed 
into  animals  to  be  re-born  for  a  period  of  probation.  The 
hardening  and  brutalizing  effect  of  these  representations 
can  be  imagined.  Perhaps  they  are  responsible  in  part  for 
the  devilish  cruelties  that  have  been  inflicted  by  Chinese 
mobs  upon  foreign  missionaries. 

Buddhism  is  responsible  for  the  introduction  into  China 
of  the  doctrine  of  hell  and  for  the  belief  in  transmigration. 
The  Buddhist  ruler  of  hell  is  known  as  Yama.  The  name 
is  adopted  by  the  Chinese,  who  call  him  Yen-lo  Wang,  or 
King  Yen-lo.  He  is  the  Radamanthus  who  presides  over 
the  hell  in  the  City  Temple.  It  is  to  him  that  the  village 
Tu  Ti  Lao  Yeh  must  report  the  death  of  each  subject  in 
his  district. 

The  City  Temple  is  adorned  with  many  fine  mottoes  and 
exhortations  to  virtue,  such  as, 

Gambling  is  near  to  robbery; 

Adultery  is  next  to  murder, 
or, 

Heaven  sees;  earth  sees;  the  gods  see;  the  devils  see;  don’t 
say  “Nobody  sees.” 

In  spite  of  such  exhortations,  and  the  sculptured  repre¬ 
sentations  of  the  terrible  punishments  that  await  the  sinner, 
I  saw  on  one  visit  a  group  of  loafers  gambling  on  the  pave¬ 
ment  of  the  temple,  under  the  outstretched  arm  of  a  fiend¬ 
ish  looking  image  that  was  intended  to  frighten  men  from 
their  wicked  ways. 

STREET  SIGHTS  AND  SOUNDS 

The  shop  signs  generally  hang  perpendicularly,  and,  as 
they  are  suspended  at  right  angles  to  the  shop  front,  so 
that  they  can  be  easily  read  by  persons  passing  up  and 
down  the  street,  they  are  often  an  inconvenience  in  a  nar- 


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147 


row  street  to  the  man  who  is  riding,  for  he  may  strike 
his  head  in  attempting  to  pass  under  them. 

The  proprietors  of  a  shop  do  not  often  place  their  names 
upon  the  sign-board.  The  shop  has  a  name  of  its  own  which 
it  will  retain  through  all  changes  of  ownership.  “Concord 
Hall”  is  a  restaurant.  The  Shop  of  the  “Precious  Tree” 
is  that  of  a  dealer  in  teas.  ‘  ‘  Continuous  Happiness  Shop  ’  ’ 
provides  the  sedan  and  other  paraphernalia  for  weddings. 
The  “Balcony  of  the  Drunken  Moon”  is  a  cafe.  “Peace 
and  Prosperity”  is  the  sign  of  a  pawn  shop.  The  “Foun¬ 
tain  of  Luxury”  merely  sells  stockings.  The  “Golden 
Cow”  sells  needles,  and  the  sign  of  the  “Black  Monkey” 
is  that  of  a  felt  cap  maker. 

Many  trades  and  callings  have  symbols  which  for  the 
illiterate  are  better  than  flowery  names.  A  couple  of  small 
hoops  suspended  with  fringes  hanging  to  them  is  the  sign 
of  a  restaurant.  A  gourd  with  two  bulbs  joined  by  a 
narrow  neck  is  the  sign  of  a  drug  store,  and  is  perhaps  the 
origin  of  the  bulbous  bottles  with  colored  water  which  our 
own  druggists  use,  for  the  gourd  of  old  was  a  bottle  and 
still  is  so  used  in  interior  places  in  China.  A  pair  of  gilded 
posts  set  in  stone  bases,  one  on  either  side  of  the  doorway, 
is  used  in  Peking  to  announce  a  bank.  A  representation 
of  a  string  of  cash,  carved  in  wood  and  gilded,  tells  of  an 
exchange  shop.  A  shallow  drum  of  brass  is  the  sign  of  an 
oil  dealer,  and  many  other  dealers  have  the  hat,  or  shoe, 
or  other  article  that  is  for  sale,  pictured  upon  the  sign¬ 
board,  just  as  western  dealers  do. 

The  sounds  of  a  city  street  are  always  an  interesting 
study.  In  China  they  are  unlike  those  at  home.  The  pedlar 
of  embroidery  thread,  of  needles  and  tape,  has  a  hand  drum 
which  he  swings  as  he  walks,  and  which  is  beaten  by  two 
little  balls  attached  to  the  drum  by  cords.  The  blind 
fortune-teller  has  a  small  disc  of  brass  which  is  struck  by 
an  ivory  mallet.  The  peripatetic  barber  is  fast  disappear¬ 
ing  since  the  head  is  no  longer  shaved.  He  carries  a  pole 
on  his  shoulder,  from  one  end  of  which  is  suspended  a  stool 
and  the  barber  kit,  and  from  the  other  a  light  stand  and 
toilet  articles.  He  announces  his  coming  by  beating  an 


148 


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iron  triangle.  The  vender  of  water  chestnuts  cries  “Mai- 
pi-tzu-o,  ’  ’  prolonging  the  o  sound,  and  the  bread  man  calls, 

4 ‘ Mai-man-t ’ou, ’ ’  “Buy  rolls,”  also  prolonging  the  final 
syllable.  The  monk  who  is  soliciting  subscriptions  with 
which  to  build  a  monastery  carries  on  his  back  a  picture 
of  one  of  his  saints,  and  walks  the  street  with  solemn 
tread  and  an  immobile  countenance,  beating  the  while 
a  wooden  “fish-head,”  as  the  emblematic  article  is  called. 
A  humble  traveler  riding  a  donkey  finds  the  stirrups  short 
and  his  knees  well  up  toward  his  chin.  The  donkey-boy 
runs  behind  and  beats  the  donkey,  which  plunges  through 
the  crowd  jingling  a  string  of  sleighbells,  while  the  boy 
yells:  “ Shengkou  lai  la,”  “An  animal  is  coming.” 

The  mournful  strains  of  a  band  of  music  precedes  a 
funeral  procession.  The  coffin  is  hidden  under  a  richly 
embroidered  covering.  It  rests  upon  a  bier  carried  by 
twenty-four  or  thirty-six  men.  A  number  of  ragamuffins, 
hired  for  the  occasion,  carry  emblems  before  it  and  boards, 
each  having  an  honorary  title  which  may  or  may  not  have 
belonged  to  the  deceased.  A  paper  cock  perhaps  is  perched 
upon  the  coffin.  It  is  a  good  luck  emblem  and  betokens 
many  male  descendants  to  keep  up  the  rites  of  ancestor 
worship.  A  sedan  chair  follows  with  the  tablet  of  the 
deceased.  Sometimes  a  portrait  of  the  dead  man  is  also 
carried  in  a  chair.  The  chief  mourners,  clothed  in  sack¬ 
cloth,  follow  behind  the  coffin;  others  in  white  garments 
ride  in  their  chairs  or  carts.  Fire  crackers  frighten  away 
the  evil  spirits,  and  at  intervals  the  procession  pauses  while 
a  table  with  offerings  of  food  is  set  out  to  refresh  the  soul 
of  the  dead  on  his  journey  to  the  tomb. 

Or  it  may  be  a  band  is  heard  playing  a  livelier  tune. 
Pipe  and  cymbal  and  drum  announce  the  approach  of  the 
red  bridal  chair,  escorted  by  the  bridegroom  7s  friends.  The 
bride,  hidden  from  view  in  the  locked  sedan,  is  borne  to 
her  future  husband  whom  perhaps  she  has  never  seen. 

Another  sound,  more  common  in  the  days  gone  by  than 
it  is  to-day,  is  that  of  a  great  gong  announcing  the  coming 
of  a  high  official.  His  green  chair  with  a  pewter  knob 
on  top  is  carried  swiftly  through  the  streets  by  four 


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149 


bearers.  Lictors  in  red  jackets  and  black  caps,  each  deco¬ 
rated  with  a  red  cock’s  feather,  rnn  in  advance  carrying 
boards  that  have  inscribed  on  them  the  great  man’s  titles. 
Secretaries  ride  behind  on  horseback.  And,  as  the  gong 
is  sounded,  the  runners  cry  out,  “The  great  man  is  com¬ 
ing.  ’  ’ 


STREET  LIGHTING 

The  streets  are  very  poorly  lighted  in  most  cities.  There 
is  an  oil  lamp  here  and  there,  but  if  a  man  goes  out  after 
dark  it  is  really  necessary  to  carry  his  own  lantern.  This 
is  made  of  bamboo  splints,  or  sometimes  of  wire  and  cov¬ 
ered  with  paper.  His  name  in  Chinese,  cut  out  of  red 
paper,  is  pasted  on  the  lantern  so  that  it  is  easily  read  by 
a  watchman  or  anyone  else  passing  in  the  street.  If  one 
is  riding  in  a  sedan  chair  he  will  have  two  big  globe  lanterns 
carried  by  servants  in  front  of  the  chair-bearers  so  that 
they  may  avoid  stumbling. 

A  number  of  cities  near  the  coast  have  now  installed 
electric  lighting  plants,  so  that  conditions  in  them  have 
much  improved  in  this  respect.  Where  good  roads  have 
been  built  the  motor  car  with  its  brilliant  lights  has  re¬ 
placed  the  sedan  chair  and  the  paper  lantern. 

THE  WATER  SUPPLY 

The  city  dwellers  still  depend  in  most  places  upon  wells 
and  pools  for  their  supply  of  water.  That  such  water  is 
often  polluted  can  not  be  denied.  Doubtless  the  practice 
of  drinking  tea  made  with  boiling  water  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  the  mortality  is  not  greater.  Chinese  rarely 
drink  cold  water.  During  many  years  of  our  residence 
in  Peking  we  were  daily  supplied  with  water  brought  in 
wooden  tubs  on  wheel-barrows.  This  came  from  certain 
‘  ‘  sweet-water  wells,  ’  ’  as  they  are  called.  Most  of  the  wells 
in  Peking  supply  a  brackish  water  which  is  good  neither 
for  drinking  nor  cooking.  About  the  year  1910  water 
works  were  built  by  the  government,  the  supply  being 
found  in  the  hills  north-west  of  the  city.  This  enterprise 


150 


The  City 


has  been  of  great  benefit  to  the  people.  A  few  other  cities 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  have  also  established 
water  works. 


OTHER  PUBLIC  UTILITIES 

Much  remains  to  be  done  in  bringing  to  the  cities  of 
China  the  material  comforts  of  modern  civilization.  Tele¬ 
phones  have  been  introduced  in  a  number  of  places  and 
street  railways  in  a  few.  Motor  omnibuses  might  be  used 
to  advantage  in  northern  towns  where  there  are  wide 
macadamized  streets.  Electric  inter-urban  railways  would 
be  a  blessing  to  the  city  and  the  village,  and,  judging  from 
the  success  of  the  city  trams,  and  the  ordinary  railways, 
they  ought  to  be  a  profitable  investment. 

VOLUNTEER  ASSOCIATIONS 

Many  matters  that  are  usually  left  to  the  government 
in  other  countries  are  managed  by  the  Chinese  through 
voluntary  associations  of  the  citizens.  They  organize  vol¬ 
unteer  fire  companies,  as  used  to  be  common  once  in  our 
own  country.  The  equipment  is  generally  antiquated 
and  not  very  effective.  The  engine  is  a  small  force  pump 
in  a  tub  which  is  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  The 
hose  is  slender  and  the  stream  small  and  weak.  The  com¬ 
panies  have  their  captains,  who  transmit  their  orders  to 
the  fire-men  by  signals.  There  are  also  towers  with  watch¬ 
men  to  give  alarm  in  case  of  fire. 

This  condition  of  affairs  has  in  recent  years  been  im¬ 
proved  in  some  of  the  larger  and  more  progressive  cities. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  example  given  by  European 
communities  in  China,  these  cities  have  purchased  foreign 
fire  apparatus  and  have  fire  departments  similar  to  our 
own,  but  such  places  are  few.  The  temples  to  the  god  of 
fire  still  exist  and  superstition  in  many  places  supplants 
reason  in  fire  prevention. 

While  I  was  living  in  Nanking  some  years  ago  a  serious 
fire  broke  out  near  the  South  Gate  which  did  great  damage. 
The  authorities  consulted  a  geomancer  to  learn  the  cause. 


A  CITY  WELL,  PEKING. 


BELL  TOWER,  PEKING. 


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151 


He  studied  the  situation  and  reported  that  the  buildings 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  were  too  high,  and  that 
this  caused  the  influence  of  the  south,  the  region  of  heat, 
to  overpower  that  of  the  north.  He  recommended  that 
a  pagoda  on  top  of  one  of  the  hills  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  city  should  be  built  higher.  This  was  done.  The 
pagoda  was  torn  down  and  re-built  considerably  higher 
than  before. 

MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT 

The  city,  as  has  already  been  said,  is  in  reality  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  villages,  for  the  several  wards  have  their  tithings 
and  hundreds  with  their  elders  and  tipao.  These  elders 
are  as  jealous  of  their  prerogatives  as  those  in  the  isolated 
villages.  They  are  prompt  to  resent  any  encroachment 
upon  their  rights.  Sales  of  real  estate  cannot  be  made 
without  their  approval,  and  any  attempt  upon  the  part  of 
the  officials  to  interfere  with  customary  privileges  will  be 
resisted  and  generally  prevented.  The  wards  are  often 
separated  one  from  another  by  gates  that  are  closed  at 
night,  and  each  ward  maintains  its  own  watchman  who  goes 
the  rounds  with  lantern  and  rattle  or  gong,  just  as  in  the 
villages.  There  is  also  a  head  office  of  the  tithings  which 
exercises  general  supervision  over  the  whole  city. 

The  importance  of  the  ward  elders  and  of  the  voluntary 
associations  of  the  people  is  overshadowed,  however,  by  the 
near  presence  of  high  officials  of  various  departments  of  the 
government,  with  their  yamens  and  their  numerous  sub¬ 
ordinates,  and  by  the  uniformed  national  police  and  the 
military. 

THE  COUNTY  MAGISTRATE 

The  Hsien,  or  County  Magistrate,  is  in  some  respests  the 
most  important  officer  in  the  government.  He  levies  and 
collects  the  taxes.  He  is  the  Recorder  of  Deeds,  the  County 
Superintendent  of  Education  and  the  Commissioner  of 
Industry.  He  is  the  County  Treasurer,  the  head  of  the 
local  militia  and  the  police.  He  is  the  Coroner  and  the 


152 


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Administrator  of  Poor  Relief,  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
Works  and  the  Judge  of  both  the  civil  and  criminal  courts, 
and  he  is  the  Mayor  of  the  city  or,  if  more  than  one  county 
is  represented  in  the  city,  Mayor  of  the  borough. 

In  1905  the  criminal  code  was  revised,  and  new  courts 
were  organized  separate  from  the  administrative  branch  of 
the  government.  Because  of  this,  the  judicial  functions  of 
the  County  Magistrate  have  been  curtailed  in  some  places. 
It  has  been  impossible,  however,  to  establish  the  new 
courts  everywhere ;  there  is  a  lack  of  qualified  judges.  The 
old  administrative  courts  therefore  are  still  very  largely 
in  use.  The  post  of  County  Magistrate,  then,  under  the 
republic,  as  under  the  empire,  remains  the  principal  unit 
of  public  administration.  In  this  yamen  are  gathered  all 
branches,  both  of  the  municipal  and  the  county  govern¬ 
ment.  The  elders  of  the  city  wards  and  the  country  vil¬ 
lage  alike  report  to  it.  The  Magistrate,  in  the  system 
adopted  by  the  Republic,  reports  to  the  Taoyin,  but  in  an 
emergency  he  may  report  directly  to  the  Governor  of  the 
province,  although  in  that  case  he  must  inform  the  Taoyin 
of  the  action  taken. 

Under  the  Manchu  regime  no  magistrate  could  serve  in 
his  native  province.  The  object  of  this  rule  was  to  prevent 
partiality  and  injustice.  Family  solidarity  is  so  marked  in 
China,  family  loyalty  so  much  stronger  than  loyalty  to  the 
state,  and  the  influence  of  friendship  and  acquaintance  so 
great,  that  it  was  felt  most  improbable  that  any  magistrate 
would  be  able  or  willing  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  relatives 
and  friends  for  the  sake  of  justice.  For  this  reason  the 
Board  of  Civil  Office  sent  men  to  posts  where  they  were 
strangers.  The  incumbent  would  take  his  secretaries  with 
him,  but  the  numerous  clerks  and  lictors  were  natives  of 
the  district  where  they  served.  When  the  Magistrate  ar¬ 
rived  at  his  new  home  he  found  himself,  therefore,  among 
strangers,  whose  speech  in  many  cases  he  could  not  under¬ 
stand,  and  dependent  upon  subordinates  who  belonged  to 
the  community  and  had  in  most  cases  inherited  their  offices 
from  their  ancestors.  These  under-paid  underlings  lived 
by  their  wits  and  were  notoriously  corrupt.  They  held  the 


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153 


magistrate  to  a  great  extent  in  their  power.  They  were  his 
eyes  and  ears  and  could  make  or  mar  any  case  that  came 
before  him.  Hence  these  yamen  subordinates  were  pilloried 
as  universally  corrupt  and  insatiable  in  their  demands  for 
“squeeze.”  I  have  used  the  past  tense  in  describing  the 
character  of  these  yamen  underlings,  but  thus  far  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  the  Republic  does  not  seem  to  have  improved 
conditions  very  much.  A  man  is  no  longer  debarred  from 
holding  office  in  his  own  province,  and  the  change  will 
probably  be  beneficial  on  the  whole,  for  in  a  land  where 
provincialism  is  as  strong  as  it  is  in  China  the  native  is 
more  apt  than  the  stranger  to  consider  the  welfare  of  the 
people  of  his  district.  Two  things  have  been  responsible 
in  the  past  for  much  of  the  corruption  in  the  county  gov¬ 
ernments  of  China.  The  first  is  the  fact  that  prior  to  the 
revolution  the  salaries,  where  any  were  paid,  were  wholly 
inadequate.  In  some  posts  no  salaries  at  all  were  p>aid ; 
the  incumbent  lived  upon  the  fees  which  he  was  allowed  for 
services  plus  the  squeeze  which  he  could  extort,  added  to 
the  bribes  that  were  offered  to  him.  The  second  cause 
was  the  practice  of  making  the  subordinate  posts  in  a 
yamen  a  private  possession,  bought  originally  by  some  an¬ 
cestor  who  had  left  the  office  to  be  inherited  by  his  descend¬ 
ants.  Without  regard  to  character  or  qualifications  a  man 
was,  and  in  many  cases  still  is  retained  in  an  office,  where 
he  is  a  dangerous  parasite,  simply  because  his  great-grand¬ 
father  paid  for  the  post.  There  can  be  no  efficient  service 
where  public  office  is  regarded  as  private  property. 

Under  the  old  regime  even  the  Magistrate  himself  re¬ 
ceived  no  proper  salary.  Nominally  it  was  about  $150  a 
year.  In  addition  he  was  allowed  a  payment  from  the 
“Nourishing  Honesty  Fund.”  In  the  case  of  the  Viceroy 
at  Nanking,  ruler  of  three  provinces,  the  allowance  from 
this  fund  amounted  to  about  $350  a  year.  This  was  popu¬ 
larly  considered  as  given  to  prevent  dishonesty.  In  fact, 
the  extra  allowance  for  the  County  Magistrate  never  passed 
into  his  hands  at  all.  The  funds  were  retained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Provincial  Treasurer  to  cover  possible  fines 
and  defalcations,  and  it  was  because  of  this,  no  doubt,  that 


154 


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it  was  given  the  name  “Nourishing  Honesty  Fund.”  It 
was,  in  fact,  an  insurance  fund. 

The  Magistrate,  out  of  the  taxes  collected,  had  to  pay 
all  the  expenses  of  the  county  government.  A  fixed  mini¬ 
mum  was  sent  to  the  Provincial  Treasury  to  be  forwarded 
to  Peking.  The  balance  the  Magistrate  regarded  as  his  own 
perquisite.  In  other  words  the  taxes  were  simply  farmed 
out. 

Under  the  Republic  the  principle  has  been  adopted  of 
paying  adequate  salaries  and  requiring  all  collections  to 
be  considered  as  public  monies,  of  which  proper  account 
is  to  be  made.  But  the  theory  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  put  into  practice  generally.  Until  the  country  is 
restored  to  peace  most  of  the  projected  reforms  will  remain 
merely  projects. 


TAX  COLLECTION 

The  County  Yamen  is  divided  into  bureaux  correspond¬ 
ing  to  the  several  functions  which  the  Magistrate  exercises. 
I  have  in  a  previous  chapter  discussed  the  amount  of 
the  land  tax.  Although  originally  payable  partly  in  money 
and  partly  in  grain,  it  is  in  fact  all  paid  in  money.  But 
the  amount  is  to  be  determined  by  the  acreage  and  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  grain  sown,  hence  there  is  an  annual  inspection 
by  the  yamen  of  the  land  under  its  jurisdiction.  The 
runners  are  sent  out  to  assess  the  tax.  They  meet  the 
village  elders  and  discuss  the  matter  over  the  tea-cups  in 
the  village  tea  house.  After  much  wrangling,  and  prob¬ 
ably  some  bribing  and  squeezing,  the  amount  is  fixed  and 
the  tax  bills  are  made  out.  Part  is  payable  in  the  spring 
and  the  balance  in  the  autumn.  In  case  of  drought  and  a 
short  crop  there  will  be  an  effort  made  by  the  elders  to 
have  the  tax  reduced.  The  Magistrate  will  also  appeal  to 
the  Governor  and  the  Governor  to  the  national  government 
to  have  the  tax  remitted.  If  the  situation  is  really  serious 
the  tax  will  almost  certainly  have  to  be  remitted,  because 
payment  will  be  impossible.  If  the  situation  is  not  very 
serious  the  representations  of  the  Magistrate  may  secure 
a  remission,  but  the  tax  will  probably  be  collected  never- 


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155 


theless,  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  the  county  yamen,  and 
swell  the  perquisites  of  the  officers  there. 

There  are  other  taxes  also  to  be  collected  by  the  County 
Magistrate.  There  are  various  licenses  required,  such  as 
those  for  conducting  a  pawTn-shop  or  operating  a  distillery. 
There  are  excise  taxes  on  distilled  liquors  and  tobacco, 
taxes  on  transfers  of  real  estate,  and  a  variety  of  miscel¬ 
laneous  charges. 

THE  CORONER 

An  important  but  disagreeable  duty  of  the  Magistrate 
is  that  pertaining  to  the  office  of  coroner.  There  are  some 
curious  superstitions  connected  with  the  discharge  of  this 
duty. 

While  I  was  serving  as  assessor  in  the  Mixed  Court  at 
Shanghai  some  years  since,  it  became  my  duty  to  attend 
an  inquest  upon  the  body  of  a  man  found  dead  in  the 
street.  The  County  Magistrate  conducted  the  inquest.  A 
yamen  runner  sponged  the  body  with  vinegar  and  warm 
water  to  discover  whether  there  were  any  marks  of  violence. 
This  runner  assured  me  very  earnestly  that  if  the  body 
was  that  of  a  murdered  man  the  eyes  of  the  corpse  would 
open  while  this  examination  was  being  made.  There  was 
no  mark  of  violence  and  the  dead  man  did  not  open  his 
eyes.  At  an  inquest  held  by  another  magistrate  I  was  in¬ 
terested  to  find  that  at  its  conclusion  the  official  purified 
himself  by  stepping  over  a  fire  of  burning  artemisia.  This 
was.  to  keep  the  spirit  of  death  from  clinging  to  his  gown 
and  accompanying  him  to  his  home. 

Under  the  Manchu  Dynasty  the  Magistrates  were  sup¬ 
plied  by  the  Government  with  a  Coroner’s  Guide,  known 
as  the  II  si  Yuan  Lu,  much  of  which  was  incorporated  in 
the  Penal  Code.  In  1907  I  had  occasion  to  translate  por¬ 
tions  of  this  work  for  a  paper  on  “  Witchcraft  in  the 
Chinese  Penal  Code,”  which  was  subsequently  published 
in  the  Journal  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society.1  Some  extracts  from  this  translation  will  be  ap¬ 
propriate  here. 

7  Vol.  XXXVIII,  1907,  pp.  61-96. 


156 


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To  identify  the  bones  of  a  deceased  parent,  when  there 
is  doubt  upon  the  subject,  we  are  told  to  proceed  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Drop  a  little  of  the  child’s  blood  upon  the  supposed  bones  of 
the  parent.  If  the  bones  be  really  those  of  a  parent  the  blood 
will  soak  in,  but  if  otherwise  it  will  not  do  so.  Care  must  be 
taken,  however,  that  the  bones  be  not  washed  in  brackish  water, 
lest  in  that  case  the  blood  and  bones  refuse  to  unite,  even  though 
they  be  related.  Elder  and  younger  brothers  have  a  common 
origin,  and  may  prove  their  relationship  by  dropping  a  little 
of  the  blood  of  each  in  a  vessel  of  water.  If  the  persons  con¬ 
cerned  be  really  brothers  the  drops  of  blood  will  flow  together. 
But  if  by  any  chance  vinegar  or  salt  be  mixed  with  the  water, 
the  union  will  take  place,  even  though  there  be  no  relationship. 
Some  say  that  husbands  and  wives  may  establish  the  fact  of 
such  relationship  by  the  blood  and  water  test;  others  say  that 
the  blood  and  bone  test  cannot  be  made  to  apply  to  such  a  rela¬ 
tionship,  so  that  there  is  some  room  for  doubt  upon  this  point. 
If,  however,  the  vessel  of  water  be  too  large,  or  the  quantity 
of  water  too  great,  the  drops  of  blood,  being  too  widely  sepa¬ 
rated,  may  not  unite ;  and  if  an  interval  elapse  between  the 
dropping  of  one  person’s  blood  and  that  of  the  other,  there  will 
be  a  difference  of  temperature  in  the  two  drops  which  may 
prevent  their  union. 

This  test  was  employed  as  lately  as  November  25,  1882. 

More  remarkable  is  the  method  prescribed  by  the  Hsi 
Yuan  Lu  for' the  discovery  of  the  location  and  character 
of  wounds  on  a  body  which  has  already  been  entirely  de¬ 
stroyed,  or  of  which  but  a  few  odd  bones  remain.  This 
method  is  referred  to  and  described  a  number  of  times  in 
the  work  just  mentioned.  In  one  case  the  grave  was  opened 
and  but  a  few  bones  were  found.  These  were  taken  out 
and  a  hot  fire  made  in  the  grave  pit.  Sesamum  seed  was 
then  thrown  in  and  scattered  about.  The  grave  was  cov¬ 
ered  over  for  an  hour,  and  afterwards  the  sesamum  seed 
was  swept  out  with  a  broom.  But  some  of  the  seed  clung 
to  the  soil,  and  on  examination  it  was  found  that  there 
was  outlined  by  it,  on  the  bottom  of  the  grave,  the  image 
of  the  dead  man.  A  clot  of  the  sesamum  seed  was  found 
at  a  spot  corresponding  to  the  navel.  The  remainder  of 
the  seed  was  then  taken  out  and  another  fire  built  in  the 


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157 


pit.  Some  dregs  of  grain  from  a  still  were  mixed  with 
water  and  thrown  in.  The  fire  was  then  increased  in  in¬ 
tensity  and  later  some  hot  vinegar  was  poured  in.  A  new 
table,  lacquered  with  gold  lacquer,  was  then  placed  top 
down  over  the  grave  and  left  there  for  a  few  moments. 
When  it  was  taken  off  there  was  found  outlined  on  its 
surface  the  image  of  the  dead  man,  and  just  over  the  navel 
was  the  mark  of  a  stab,  an  oblique  wound  1.3  inches  in 
length,  a  mortal  wound  inflicted  by  a  wooden  instrument. 

The  following  method  is  prescribed  in  the  same  work  for 
determining  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  a  wife  and  her  alleged 
paramour  who  have  been  killed  by  the  husband,  as  the 
old  code  permitted: 

Take  a  water  jar  and  fill  it  with  water,  one  half  from  the  river 
and  the  other  half  from  the  well.  This  is  called  “yin-yang” 
water.  Take  a  stick  and  stir  the  water  into  a  swiftly  whirling 
eddy.  Then  take  the  heads  of  the  decapitated  corpses  of  the 
man  and  woman  and  place  them  without  delay  in  the  water. 
If  the  pair  were  really  guilty,  the  heads  will  turn  nose  to  nose; 
but,  if  they  were  innocent,  they  will  turn  back  to  back,  one  above 
and  the  other  below  in  the  jar. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed,  of  course,  that  all  officials  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  efficacy  of  these  prescriptions,  but  the  fact 
that  such  a  work  was  officially  regarded  as  authoritative 
up  to  the  year  1905  is  a  very  significant  one. 

PUBLIC  CHARITIES 

I 

Of  the  five  Chinese  virtues,  mercy  or  benevolence  is 
placed  first.  Under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion 
the  West  has  done  far  more  to  relieve  suffering  than  the 
older  East,  but  China  has  not  been  entirely  wanting  in 
charitable  institutions.  Some  of  these  are  voluntary  asso¬ 
ciations  of  the  people.  There  are  societies  for  the  free  dis¬ 
tribution  of  medicine.  Buddhist  monasteries  sometimes 
open  such  dispensaries.  But  the  want  of  a  knowledge  of 
medicine,  or  even  of  hygiene,  renders  them  of  little  use.  I 
saw  a  chart  in  one  of  these  monasteries  which  pretended 
to  describe  the  human  anatomy,  but  it  represented  organs 


158 


The  City 


and  ducts  which  have  never  existed  in  any  human  being. 
It  reminded  me  of  the  professor  who  wrote  a  treatise  on 
the  camel.  Never  having  seen  a  camel,  he  evolved  one 
out  of  his  inner  consciousness.  The  severe  laws  that  have 
in  the  past  provided  punishment  for  the  dissection  of  a 
dead  body  are  no  doubt  responsible  for  much  of  the  igno¬ 
rance  of  medical  science  that  has  prevailed  in  China. 

The  Buddhists  also  support  foundling  asylums.  Other 
charitable  institutions  are  those  which  provide  free  coffins 
and  graves  for  the  poor,  free  vaccination,  free  schools  for 
manual  training,  free  ferries  and  monthly  doles  to  indigent 
widows. 

Official  charities  include  orphan  asylums,  homes  for 
widows,  homes  for  the  aged,  homes  for  cripples,  and  rice 
kitchens.  These  so-called  homes  are  very  cheerless  insti¬ 
tutions — a  group  of  buildings  with  the  simplest  sort  of 
furniture,  cheap  clothing,  and  a  little  rice  each  day,  barely 
enough  to  keep  one  alive.  The  inmates  of  the  old-folks’ 
home  at  Nanking  used  to  sit  outside  the  gate  and  beg  of 
passersby.  A  Buddhist  orphanage  is  apt  to  be  a  more  com¬ 
fortable  place  than  one  under  official  management,  but  both 
are  liable  to  show  a  high  death  rate,  because  they  lack 
trained  nurses  who  understand  infant  feeding.  A  Chinese 
physician,  a  lady  who  had  been  educated  abroad,  told  me 
what  difficulties  she  had  with  careless  and  untrained  serv¬ 
ants,  in  her  endeavors  to  secure  clean  surroundings  and 
healthful  food  for  the  children  in  an  official  orphanage 
under  her  care. 

One  of  the  most  common  forms  of  relief  given  by  gov¬ 
ernment  officials  is  that  of  cooked  rice  distributed  to  the 
destitute  during  the  winter  months.  When  floods  or 
drought  have  destroyed  the  peasant’s  grain  many  of  them, 
who  are  without  reserves  of  food,  will  take  their  families 
to  the  suburbs  of  the  county  town  or  some  other  large  city 
where  relief  can  be  expected.  In  Nanking  there  were  large 
stores  of  rice  kept  in  the  official  granaries.  Rice  was  the 
principal  article  of  tribute  sent  by  the  Viceroyalty  to  the 
Court  at  Peking.  Some  of  this  rice  was  retained  for  dis¬ 
tribution  in  times  of  distress, 


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159 


I  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  a  bitter  winter  at 
Nanking.  There  had  been  unusual  falls  of  snow  and  much 
suffering  among  the  poor.  Outside  the  West  Gate  was  an 
encampment  of  refugees  driven  there  by  the  floods  in  the 
Huai  River  which  had  destroyed  their  homes.  For  two 
miles  this  camp  extended  along  the  bank  of  a  creek  that 
formed  the  city  moat  on  that  side.  The  number  of  these 
sufferers  was  given  as  thirty  thousand,  but  allowing  for 
exaggeration  it  may  be  put  down  as  not  less  than  ten  thou¬ 
sand.  The  tents  were  made  of  reed  mats.  Each  mat,  eight 
feet  square,  was  bent  into  the  form  of  an  arch  and  the  sides 
pinned  to  the  ground.  Another  mat  closed  one  end.  The 
front  was  either  wholly  or  partially  open.  Under  one  of 
these  wretched  shelters  a  whole  family  would  be  huddled 
together.  There  were  mothers  with  nursing  children,  half- 
starved  boys  and  girls,  and  grey-headed  old  men  and  women. 
Many  were  bare-footed  except  for  straw  sandals.  The  daily 
dole  was  eleven  ounces  of  coarse  rice.  That  it  was  only 
partially  hulled  made  it,  perhaps,  a  more  wholesome  diet. 

The  County  Magistrate  went  down  one  day  to  visit  the 
camp  to  see  if  anything  more  could  be  done  for  the  people. 
They  rushed  upon  him  so  furiously  in  their  eagerness  to 
get  his  assistance  that  his  sedan  was  torn  to  pieces,  and  he 
barely  escaped  with  his  life.  A  native  Christian  went 
down  on  behalf  of  the  missionaries,  and  when  his  purpose 
to  give  relief  was  learned  they  were  like  wild  beasts  as 
they  struggled  one  with  another  to  reach  him.  He,  too, 
had  his  clothing  torn  from  him  and  had  to  be  rescued  by 
soldiers,  who  carried  him  to  the  home  of  one  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries.  An  excited  mob  of  some  hundreds  followed  him, 
and  when  they  were  denied  entrance  to  the  mission  com¬ 
pound  they  began  stoning  the  house. 

Organized  official  relief  of  distress  has  been  aided  in  the 
past  few  years  by  the  American  Red  Cross  and  other  for¬ 
eign  societies,  so  that  better  order  and  more  comfort  than 
were  found  in  early  days  has  been  maintained  among  the 
sufferers.  The  self-respect  of  the  peasants  has  been  saved, 
too,  by  giving  them  work  to  do,  and  paying  them  wages 
with  which  to  buy  their  supplies  of  grain.  The  women  and 


160 


The  City 


girls  have  been  employed  in  making  clothing  or  weaving 
hair  nets  for  the  foreign  market,  and  the  able-bodied  men 
set  to  building  good  roads. 

This  improvement  in  the  administration  of  public  charity 
has  affected  the  management  of  orphanages  and  other 
refuges  for  the  afflicted  and  needy,  so  that  to-day  many 
of  them  maintain  workshops  where  simple  trades  are 
taught,  and  the  inmates  enabled  to  earn,  in  part  at  least, 
their  support. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COURTS 

The  City  Hall  and  County  Court  House  in  China  do  not 
remind  you  of  anything  that  you  have  ever  seen  in  any 
other  country.  It  is  a  collection  of  large,  barn-like  build¬ 
ings  of  brick,  with  curved  roofs  of  tile.  They  are  placed 
one  behind  the  other,  with  spacious  courts  between. 
Smaller  buildings  at  the  sides  of  the  court-yards  sometimes 
connect  these  large  halls  one  with  another. 

Along  the  kerbing  of  the  side-walk  in  front  of  the  main 
entrance  a  screen  is  built,  usually  of  brick.  In  the  days 
of  the  empire  there  was  painted  on  the  inside  of  the  screen 
a  representation  of  a  huge  blue  dragon  about  to  swallow 
a  red  sun.  The  Chinese  have  a  keen  sense  of  humor.  In 
reply  to  my  query  as  to  the  meaning  of  this  picture  a 
Chinese  friend  said:  “Anciently  there  were  ten  suns  in 
the  sky.  The  dragon  swallowed  nine,  but  he  left  one.  This 
picture  is  intended  to  remind  the  magistrate  that  when  he 
collects  the  revenues  of  his  district,  he  should  leave  at  least 
one-tenth  for  the  Emperor.  ” 

But  the  dragon  is  no  longer  a  popular  symbol  in  China. 
It  was  the  emblem  of  autocratic  power,  of  brute  force. 
It  suggested  that  distant  age  when  “Dragons  of  the  prime 
tare  each  other  in  their  slime.’ ’  Those  huge  saurians  have 
disappeared  from  the  earth,  as  autocratic  power  is  also 
doomed  to  disappear.  To-day  the  people  are  sovereign  in 
China,  and  the  dragon  banner  has  been  replaced  by  the 
“Rainbow  Flag,”  which  is  an  emblem  of  hope  for  the 
Republic  and  a  promise  of  prosperity  to  its  citizens. 


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161 


But  the  screen  still  stands  in  front  of  the  entrance  to 
the  yamen.  The  word  “ya-men”  means  “The  door  to  the 
official  tent.”  Set  back  a  few  paces  from  the  street  this 
great  door- way  is  closed  by  two  huge  doors,  15  to  20  feet 
high,  that  swing  on  pivots.  They  are  decorated  with  pic¬ 
tures  of  the  door  gods,  one  with  a  light  face  that  watches 
by  day,  and  one  with  a  dark  face  that  stands  guard  at 
night.  This  principal  entrance  is  usually  closed  except 
when  high  officials  enter  or  leave.  A  smaller  door  is  avail¬ 
able  for  ordinary  service. 

In  a  great  chamber  at  the  rear  of  the  principal  court¬ 
yard  is  the  hall  of  justice.  There  the  Magistrate,  in  the 
time  of  the  Empire,  sat  in  his  official  dress  to  administer 
the  law.  His  gown  of  silk  or  satin  was  richly  embroidered 
with  the  insignia  of  his  office.  Around  his  neck  was  sus¬ 
pended  his  string  of  court  beads.  On  the  crown  of  his 
hat  was  the  button  that  indicated  his  rank,  and,  if  he  had 
been  decorated,  there  was  attached  to  the  base  of  the  button 
the  peacock  plume  or  the  blue  feather. 

The  republican  official  has  discarded  all  this  finery,  and 
discharges  the  duties  of  his  office  in  ordinary  European 
dress. 

Under  the  Empire  a  man  obtained  office  through  his 
knowledge  of  the  classics  and  his  literary  talent.  He  may 
have  known  but  little  of  the  laws  of  his  country.  But  at 
his  side,  or  within  call,  he  had  a  law  secretary  who  knew 
the  statutes  and  the  precedents.  By  aid  of  this  assistant 
he  was  able  to  give  judgment,  which,  however,  in  capital 
cases,  had  to  be  confirmed  by  the  Department  of  Justice 
at  Peking. 

Where  the  new  courts  have  been  established  efforts  are 
made  to-day  to  place  men  in  them  as  judges  who  have  been 
drained  in  the  law. 

Prior  to  1905,  in  criminal  cases  both  the  accused  and  the 
witnesses  were  liable  to  torture.  No  one  could  be  subjected 
to  the  severe  penalties  of  the  law  unless  he  confessed  his 
guilt,  and  the  torture  was  designed  to  persuade  him  to 
make  confession.  Beating  with  a  heavy  bamboo  paddle, 
hanging  by  the  thumbs  with  the  toes  barely  touching  the 


162  The  City 

ground,  and  kneeling  on  chains,  were  some  of  the  simplest 
methods  of  torture. 

The  use  of  torture  was  abolished  by  imperial  edict  in 
1905,  except  that  it  was  still  allowed  in  capital  cases  where 
the  Magistrate  was  convinced  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused 
and  the  latter  refused  to  confess.  Under  the  Eepublic  all 
such  torture  is  forbidden. 

THE  PRISON 

In  one  court-yard  of  the  yamen,  in  the  old  days,  the 
county  jail  was  located.  It  was  usually  vile  and  insanitary 
in  the  highest  degree.  While  I  was  serving  as  American 
Assessor  in  the  Mixed  Court  at  Shanghai,  I  passed  several 
times  a  week  through  the  jail  court-yard  there.  The  two 
wards,  one  for  men,  the  other  for  women,  were  next  to  the 
street  and  near  the  entrance  to  the  yamen,  but  the  wall 
along  the  street  was  a  dead  wall  except  for  one  small  dust- 
covered  window  in  the  women’s  ward,  far  up  out  of  their 
reach.  This  ward  was  about  25  feet  square.  Except  for 
the  brief  glimpse  of  sunlight  given  through  the  window 
just  mentioned,  the  only  light  for  the  inmates  came  from 
a  hall-way  that  opened  through  a  narrow  door-way  into 
the  court-yard.  The  hall  was  cut  off  from  the  rest  of 
the  room  by  a  barred  partition.  Fortunately  women 
prisoners  were  few,  but  sometimes  they  brought  young 
children  with  them.  All  the  women  and  children  occupied 
this  room  together.  They  brought  with  them  their  bedding, 
which  was  unrolled  and  laid  upon  the  floor  at  night  and 
gathered  up  into  a  bundle  again  the  next  morning.  The 
men’s  ward  was  about  50  by  25  feet.  It  was  better  venti¬ 
lated,  for  the  whole  north  side  was  open,  except  for  a  stock¬ 
ade  of  heavy  poles  arranged  about  three  or  four  inches 
apart,  firmly  fixed  in  the  pavement  and  attached  above 
to  the  roof  timbers.  The  floor  was  of  brick  and  quite 
damp.  A  urinal  occupied  one  corner.  There  was  no 
privacy,  and  in  the  winter  there  was  no  fire  and  no  shelter 
from  the  winds.  I  have  seen  as  many  as  30  men  at  one 
time  shut  up  in  this  pen.  Prisoners  supplied  themselves 


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163 


with  bedding,  and  for  a  tip  to  the  guard  their  families 
would  be  permitted  to  bring  them  food.  Otherwise  they 
had  to  get  on  with  prison  fare,  which  was  frugal  and  un¬ 
savory.  The  prisoners  were  not  allowed  to  go  out  for  ex¬ 
ercise  and  were  given  no  work. 

But  with  the  reforms  that  came  after  the  Boxer  Rising 
this  prison  disappeared,  and  has  been  replaced  by  a  modern 
building  with  all  necessary  sanitary  arrangements.  In 
Peking  the  convicts  are  taken  out  to  work  at  cleaning  the 
streets  or  repairing  the  roads.  In  Tientsin  they  are  em¬ 
ployed  in  work-shops  and  provided  with  a  night  school. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  CRAFTSMAN 

Round  swings  the  hammer  of  industry,  quickly  the  sharp  chisel  rings, 
And  the  heart  of  the  toiler  has  throbbings  that  stir  not  the  bosom 
of  kings. — MacCarthy. 

The  fifth  officer  is  called  Chief  of  Manufactures.  He  orders  the 
making  up  of  the  eight  materials.  The  sixth  officer  is  called  the 
Chief  of  Trade;  he  provides  for  an  abundant  circulation  of  goods 
and  money. — The  Chou  Li  (1122-249  b.c.) 

Great  economic  changes  have  taken  place  in  China  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  thirty  years  and  especially  since  the  revolu¬ 
tion  of  1911.  In  many  places  machinery  is  gradually 
replacing  handicraft.  In  the  large  open  ports  where  Euro¬ 
peans  live  in  considerable  numbers  they  have  organized 
joint  stock  companies  and  have  built  great  factories  in 
which  Western  machinery  driven  by  steam  power  has  been 
in  operation  for  many  years.  More  recently  Chinese  capi¬ 
talists  have  followed  the  example  set,  and  have  successfully 
entered  into  competition  with  the  foreigner. 

INDUSTRIAL  REVOLUTION 

This  is  tending  to  break  up  cottage  industries  in  certain 
lines,  and  is  attracting  the  enterprising  and  ambitious  la¬ 
borers  to  the  treaty  ports.  Wages  have  risen,  the  standard 
of  living  has  improved  and  apprenticeship  to  the  old  trades 
is  losing  its  appeal.  Women  and  girls  find  employment 
in  the  mills,  and  thus  the  ancient  seclusion  of  women  is 
being  abandoned  and  family  restraints  are  loosened.  Do¬ 
mestic  life  is  profoundly  affected.  Fashions  are  changing 
and  society  is  in  transformation. 

These  changes,  however,  are  limited  as  yet  to  small 
districts.  Over  the  greater  part  of  China  it  is  still  proper 
to  use  the  term  “manufacture”  in  its  original  sense,  for 

164 


The  Craftsman 


165 


in  most  places  raw  materials  are  still  worked  up  by  hand 
into  articles  of  use  and  ornament.  Tools  are  used,  but  they 
are  primitive  and  crude,  and  such  machinery  as  has  been 
invented  is  simple.  The  motive  power  is  the  human  hand 
or  foot,  the  water-wheel  or  the  strength  of  the  ox  or  mule. 
Steam  and  electricity  in  these  inland  towns  are  all  but 
unknown. 

The  conditions  of  manufacturing  industry  in  such  places 
are  substantially  the  same  as  prevailed  in  Europe  before 
the  invention  of  the  steam  engine.  The  great  change  which 
the  application  of  steam  and  the  wonderful  progress  of 
mechanical  invention  have  wrought  during  the  past  cen¬ 
tury  in  the  manufacturing  communities  of  the  West  has 
scarcely  begun. 

The  craftsman’s  home,  as  a  rule,  is  still  his  work-shop. 
His  capital  is  small,  his  apprentices  and  journeymen  are 
limited  in  number,  and  the  former  are  generally  bound  to 
him  for  a  term  of  years  and  are  inmates  of  his  own  house. 

Although  China  possesses  a  hundred  roller  flour  mills, 
one  has  but  to  visit  almost  any  native  city  to  see  wheat 
still  ground  by  ox-power,  and  the  flour  bolted  by  primitive 
machinery  worked  by  the  miller  himself,  who,  standing  on 
a  balanced  lever,  one  foot  on  either  side  of  the  support, 
presses  alternately  on  one  end  and  then  on  the  other  to 
shake  the  sieve  to  and  fro.  So,  too,  the  old-fashioned  wedge 
press  is  still  used  for  expressing  oil.  Rice  is  hulled  by 
heavy  hammers  in  stone  mortars,  and  cotton  is  prepared 
for  spinning  by  the  rude  native  gin  and  the  great  twanging 
bow,  and  is  spun  on  a  distaff  and  woven  in  ancient  looms 
that  Marco  Polo  might  have  seen  in  his  journey ings  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  although  the  same  work  is  done  by  the 
most  improved  machinery  in  many  of  the  open  ports. 

LOCAL  CRAFTS 

Each  district  in  China  is  noted  for  some  one  or  more 
articles,  in  the  manufacture  of  which  its  people  show 
expert  skill  or  artistic  taste.  Peking,  which  has  gathered 
within  its  walls  craftsmen  from  many  parts  of  the  coun- 


166 


The  Craftsman 


try,  is  especially  distinguished  for  its  rugs,  its  cloisonne 
and  enameled  ware,  its  jade  polishing  and  its  lacquer  carv¬ 
ing.  Of  less  importance  but  equally  interesting  is  its  manu¬ 
facture  of  artificial  flowers  and  imitation  butterflies, 
dragon-flies,  cicadas  and  other  insects,  in  which  the  work¬ 
men  show  great  skill. 

RUG  MAKING 

The  rug  industry  has  sprung  up  quite  naturally,  since 
Peking  is  near  the  border  of  Mongolia,  where  great  herds 
of  sheep  and  camels  supply  the  material  of  which  they 
are  made. 

The  workman  draws  his  design  on  a  small  piece  of  paper, 
and  colors  it  with  water  colors  of  the  shade  that  he  intends 
to  use.  This  is  fastened  to  one  of  the  upright  poles  of  his 
loom.  An  outline  is  sometimes  drawn  on  the  cords  of  the 
warp,  which  is  stretched  between  an  upper  and  lower 
roller.  The  yarns  are  tied  around  the  cords  of  the  warp, 
clipped  with  shears,  and  beaten  down  into  place  with  a 
smooth  stick  or  an  iron  fork.  The  workman  often  trusts 
to  his  eye  to  determine  how  much  of  each  color  is  to  be 
used  and  just  where  it  is  to  be  placed  to  carry  out  the 
design. 

Formerly  the  dyes  were  native  vegetable  dyes  and  the 
colors  were  fast,  but  the  foreign  demand  for  rugs  has  grown 
apace,  and  the  import  of  chemical  dyes  has  been  encouraged 
by  their  cheapness,  with  the  result  that  much  harm  has 
been  done  to  the  business.  During  the  late  war  the  import 
of  foreign  dyes  feel  off  of  necessity  and  the  production  of 
native  dyes  revived. 

Peking  embroideries,  too,  are  known  the  world  over, 
but  the  best,  perhaps,  are  brought  there  from  Shansi,  the 
neighboring  province  on  the  west. 

CLOISONNE 

Cloisonne  was  introduced  into  China  from  Constanti¬ 
nople,  probably  in  the  thirteenth  century,  when  not  a  few 
adventurous  travelers  passed  to  and  fro  between  Peking 


The  Craftsman 


167 


and  the  Hellespont.  At  that  time  the  Mongols,  who  sub¬ 
dued  nearly  all  Asia,  gave  peace  to  the  eastern  world  and 
protected  the  routes  of  travel  and  trade.1 

There  are  a  number  of  shops  in  Peking  where  excellent 
work  is  done.  The  proprietors  are  very  courteous  and 
you  have  but  to  express  a  desire  to  witness  the  process  of 
making  cloisonne  to  be  conducted  to  the  rooms  in  which 
the  men  are  at  work.  A  copper  vase  is  being  beaten  into 
shape  by  one.  Another  is  outlining  the  arabesque  pattern 
upon  the  surface  of  a  bowl.  A  third  is  soldering  the  wires 
along  the  lines  of  the  pattern  on  some  other  vessel.  The 
colors  are  being  ground  and  made  into  a  paste.  The  little 
cells  are  filled  with  appropriate  colors,  and  when  the  vessel 
is  ready  for  firing  it  is  taken  out  into  the  court-yard  and 
placed  in  a  brazier  of  glowing  charcoal,  which  is  kept  at 
a  white  heat  by  the  use  of  fans  in  the  hands  of  the  workers 
until  the  colors  have  fused  and  fastened  themselves  upon 
the  copper.  The  process  must  be  repeated  until  every  cell 
is  completely  filled,  when  the  surface  is  polished  with 
pumice  and  the  copper  lines  are  gilded.  The  whole  estab- 
lishment  is  housed  in  a  cottage  of  five  or  six  rooms. 

CARVED  LACQUER 

Not  far  away  from  one  of  these  cloisonne  shops  you 
will  find  another  unpretentious  building  in  which  a  small 
group  of  workmen  with  their  graving  tools  in  hand  are 
carving  lacquered  trays  and  jewel  boxes.  The  wooden 
trays  are  first  covered  with  the  lacquer,  black  inside  and 
red  or  olive  without,  and  when  the  surface  is  sufficiently 
hardened  the  delicate  pattern  drawn  on  thin  paper  is  fast¬ 
ened  upon  it,  and  the  graver  carves  out  in  low  relief  the 
ornamental  tracery  or  scene  to  be  depicted. 

JADE  CUTTING 

The  jade  cutter  uses  a  sharp  steel  wheel,  which  is  turned 
alternately  forward  and  backward  by  means  of  a  strap 
attached  to  a  treadle.  The  workman  holds  the  precious 

i  See  Bushell’s  “Chinese  Art,”  Vol.  II,  pp.  73-74. 


168 


The  Craftsman 


stone  firmly  against  the  cutting  edge.  Water  drips  upon 
the  point  of  contact  to  cool  the  steel,  and  a  handful  of  wet 
jade  dust  is  pressed  into  the  cutting  to  assist  the  process. 
Glass  and  crystal  cutting  are  also  common,  and  the  paint¬ 
ing  of  minature  scenes  on  the  interior  of  snuff  bottles  is 
an  art  for  the  practice  of  which  a  patient  attention  to 
detail  especially  fits  the  Chinese. 

Bronze  making  in  China  is  of  great  antiquity.  The 
modern  work  seems  to  be  of  poor  quality.  The  brass  work 
of  the  Ming  Dynasty  (1368-1644)  is  highly  prized,  but 
equally  good  work  appears  to  be  done  by  the  brass-smiths 
of  to-day. 

BRASS  WORKERS 

Not  only  in  Peking  but  in  any  large  city  you  can  watch 
the  workmen  beating  the  brass  vessels  into  shape  or  deco¬ 
rating  them  with  a  graver’s  tool.  Scroll  work,  floral  and 
geometrical  designs,  and  inscriptions  of  Chinese  poetry  in 
ornamental  characters  form  his  themes.  The  furnace  blown 
by  a  bellows,  worked  by  an  apprentice  is  visible  from  the 
street,  throwing  out  its  tints  of  green  and  purple.  On 
the  shelves  of  the  shop  the  attractive  wares  are  displayed, 
among  them  the  foot-stoves  with  perforated  covers.  In 
these  brass  vessels  a  glowing  ball  of  charcoal  burned  in 
wood  ashes  will  serve  to  keep  my  lady’s  feet  warm  when 
she  journeys  in  her  sedan.  An  ink-stone  encased  in  a  brass 
box  supplies  her  husband  with  the  palette  on  which  to 
prepare  the  ink  for  his  official  despatches.  And  there  is 
the  brass  water  pipe,  too,  for  the  tobacco  with  which  he 
comforts  himself  between  sentences.  The  manufacture  of 
these  pipes  is  a  special  branch  of  the  brass-smith’s  trade. 
An  oval  box  divided  into  two  compartments  forms  the 
principal  feature  of  the  pipe.  One  compartment  is  for  the 
tobacco  supply,  the  other  for  water.  The  top  of  the  water 
compartment  connects  with  a  long  curved  stem,  also  of 
brass.  The  bowl  is  movable  and  ends  at  the  bottom  in  a 
slender  projection  which  fits  into  an  opening  in  the  top 
of  the  water  compartment.  The  projection  extends  be¬ 
neath  the  surface  of  the  water.  There  are  receptacles,  too, 


The  Craftsman 


169 


for  tapers  and  various  little  implements  used  in  cleaning 
the  pipe.  The  bowl  does  not  hold  more  than  a  thimble¬ 
ful  of  tobacco,  which  is  consumed  in  one  or  two  inhalations. 
The  taper  is  of  brown  paper  saturated  with  salt-petre  and 
burns  very  slowly.  Held  close  to  the  lips  it  is  blown  into 
a  flame  by  a  quick  in-drawing  of  the  breath.  The  tobacco 
is  lighted  and  the  smoke  is  drawn  through  the  water  with 
a  bubbling  sound.  With  one  breath  it  is  discharged  from 
the  mouth  at  the  same  time  that  the  flame  of  the  taper  is 
extinguished.  The  bowl  is  then  removed  and  the  ashes 
thrown  out  by  blowing  through  the  lower  end,  after  which 
it  is  replaced,  another  pinch  of  tobacco  inserted,  and  the 
operations  just  described  are  repeated. 

SHANTUNG  WARES 

The  province  of  Shantung  is  noted  for  its  strawbraid 
and  its  pongees.  The  former  is  exported  in  large  quan¬ 
tities  for  the  manufacture  of  hats.  The  latter  is  made  from 
the  cocoons  of  the  wild  silk-worm  which  feeds  upon  oak 
leaves.  The  word  “pongee”  is  a  corruption  of  the  Chinese 
words  meaning  “natural  color,”  and  was  applied  to  these 
silks  because  formerly  they  could  not  be  dyed.  In  recent 
years  German  chemists  have  taught  the  Chinese  how  to 
treat  the  silk  so  as  to  enable  it  to  take  the  dye. 

LACE-MAKING 

Besides  these  two  products  Chefoo,  in  Shantung,  is  cele¬ 
brated  for  its  laces.  The  manufacture  of  lace  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  China  by  the  missionaries.  An  Italian  convent 
at  Hankow  appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  teach  the  art, 
and  the  silk  lace  made  there  soon  acquired  a  well-deserved 
reputation  for  beauty.  Protestant  missions  followed  with 
the  introduction  of  cotton  and  linen  laces.  These  are  made 
not  only  in  Chefoo,  but  at  Soochow,  Amoy  and  Swatow  as 
well.  The  last-mentioned  port  is  celebrated,  too,  for  its 
grass  cloth,  a  sort  of  linen  made  from  the  fiber  of  the 
ramie  ( Boehmeria  Nivea).2  The  women  and  girls  in  the 

2  Botanicon  Sinicum,  391. 


170 


The  Craftsman 


mission  schools  have  been  taught  to  make  drawn  work  of 
this  grass  cloth.  The  ch’u,  or  ramie,  is  a  perennial  which 
produces  two  or  three  crops  of  stalks  each  year  and  will 
last  five  or  six  years.  Arnold  states  that  the  best  comes 
from  Kiangsi  Province.3  The  cloth  woven  on  native  looms 
is  rather  uneven  in  texture;  a  better  variety  is  made  on 
power  looms. 

PORCELAIN 

Kiangsi  Province  is  better  known  to  the  world  for  an¬ 
other  product,  for  it  is  at  Chingtechen,  in  that  province, 
that  the  finest  porcelain  is  made,  the  ware  to  which  China 
has  given  her  own  name. 

These  potteries  are  located  about  seventy-five  miles  south¬ 
east  of  Kiukiang,  and  extend  some  distance  along  the 
Ch’ang  River,  which  flows  into  the  Poyang  Lake  from  the 
east.  The  place  began  to  attract  attention  early  in  the 
seventh  century  A.D.  when  a  potter  working  there  pro¬ 
duced  a  green  ware  called  “Pottery  Jade.”  True  porce¬ 
lain  does  not  appear  to  have  been  made,  however,  until 
the  time  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  (A.D.  1368-1644),  when  the 
clay  from  a  range  of  hills  known  as  the  Kao  Lin,  or  ‘  ‘  Pligh 
Range,”  began  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture.  At  any 
rate  the  ware  made  previous  to  the  time  just  mentioned,  in 
so  far  as  available  specimens  show,  did  not  differ  in  char¬ 
acter  from  the  pottery  made  during  the  Sung  period,4 
which  was  not  a  true  porcelain. 

The  potter’s  wheel  has  been  at  work  in  China  from  very 
early  times.  It  was  evidently  known  to  Chuang  Tzu,  the 
Philosopher,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  and 
who  says:  “Therefore  the  holy  man  reconciles  positive 
and  negative  and  finds  satisfaction  in  the  heavenly  potters  ’ 
wheel.”  The  import  of  the  passage  is  that  God  moulds 
the  affairs  of  the  world  as  the  potter  does  the  vessel  on 

3  Commercial  Handbook  of  China,  Vol.  2,  p.  286. 

4  For  a  description  of  the  wares  of  the  Sung  period  see  ‘  ‘  Keramic 
Wares  of  the  Sung  Dynasty,  ”  by  Rose  Sickler  Williams,  in  a  volume 
on  ‘  ‘  Chinese,  Corean  and  J apanese  Potteries,  ’  ’  published  by  the 
Japan  Society,  New  York,  1914. 


The  Craftsman 


171 


the  wheel.  The  revolving  sky,  the  succession  of  day  and 
night  and  of  summer  and  winter,  bringing  with  them  the 
blessings  and  calamities  of  the  year,  suggest  the  movement 
of  a  potter’s  wheel  and  the  vessels  made  thereon,  “some 
to  honor  and  some  to  dishonor.”  The  specimens  found 
of  the  pottery  of  the  Han  Dynasty  (206  B.C.  to  A.D.  220) 
show  the  mark  of  the  wheel,  according  to  Laufer,  who  made 
a  collection  of  such  vessels  in  China,  in  1901-04,  for  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History.5 

Some  writers  ascribe  the  invention  of  porcelain  to  the 
Han  period,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  wares 
of  that  and  succeeding  dynasties,  to  the  close  of  the  Sung, 
were  true  porcelain. 

During  the  Ming  Dynasty  and  throughout  the  period  of 
the  Manchu  rule  Chingtechen  was  famous  for  its  beautiful 
productions.  For  a  time  there  were  as  many  as  500  kilns 
in  operation  there,  but  during  the  Taiping  Rebellion 
(1851-66)  the  whole  region  was  laid  waste,  and  the  indus¬ 
try  has  never  since  that  time  regained  its  former  impor¬ 
tance.  During  the  Manchu  Dynasty  the  best  products  of 
the  kilns  were  reserved  for  the  Imperial  Court.  Certain 
patterns  were  exclusively  used  for  this  purpose.  It  was 
always  possible,  however,  to  buy  at  Kiuldang  so-called  de¬ 
fective  or  rejected  pieces  of  imperial  ware,  for  the  officers 
in  charge  could  always  find  excuse  for  rejecting  a  certain 
number  of  pieces,  which  were,  of  course,  disposed  of  to  the 
trade  at  a  good  profit. 

The  range  of  hills  known  as  Kao  Lin  has  given  its  name 
throughout  the  world  to  the  clay  of  which  the  porcelains 
to-day  are  made,  and  the  art  of  making  porcelain  has  be¬ 
come  a  fine  art  in  many  countries  of  the  world,  but  it  is 
to  China  that  the  credit  is  due  for  its  invention. 

At  present  there  are  but  104  kilns  in  operation  at  Chingte¬ 
chen,  and  of  these  30  only  are  in  use  the  whole  year;  the 
remainder  give  employment  in  the  summer.  Each  kiln 
employs  from  100  to  200  men.  Some  effort  has  been  made 
since  the  establishment  of  the  republic  to  develop  a  foreign 
trade  for  the  old  imperial  potteries  by  adopting  patterns 

e  “Chinese  Pottery  of  the  Han  Dynasty/ *  p.  8. 


172 


The  Craftsman 


better  suited  than  the  Chinese  to  the  uses  of  the  European 
and  American  dinner  table.  This  effort  is  meeting  with 
success.  At  present  the  trade  amounts  to  some  $250,000 
a  year. 

There  are  many  other  districts  in  China  that  make 
Chinaware,  but  it  is  generally  of  a  coarser  variety  than 
that  produced  at  Chingtechen. 

A  very  attractive  ware  of  terra  cotta  is  manufactured 
at  Ihsinghsien,  in  Kiangsu  Province. 

Kiukiang,  the  principal  river  port  of  Kiansi  Province, 
is  celebrated  for  two  things,  the  manufacture  of  silver 
ware  and  the  preparation  of  tea. 

The  most  attractive  patterns  used  for  the  beaten  silver 
are  the  dragon  and  the  bamboo.  Good  wishes  expressed 
in  Chinese  characters  are  also  used  for  ornament,  and  some 
vessels  are  decorated  with  scenes  from  well-known  plays 
or  illustrating  ancient  legends. 

TEA  FIRING 

During  the  tea-firing  season  the  atmosphere  of  Kiukiang 
is  permeated  with  a  fragrant  aroma  that  floats  out  from 
the  factories.  But  this  is  still  more  noticeable  perhaps,  at 
Hankow,  which  is  the  great  tea  port  of  central  China. 
There  are  located  the  largest  factories  for  the  manufac¬ 
ture  of  brick  tea,  which  is  so  much  in  demand  in  Russia. 
The  tea  dust  is  steamed  and  put  into  moulds,  which  are 
placed  in  hydraulic  presses.  The  solid  cakes  thus  formed 
have  the  shape  of  bricks,  from  which  circumstance  the 
name  “brick  tea”  takes  its  origin.  In  the  old  days  when 
traffic  with  Russia  was  almost  wholly  by  caravan  across 
Mongolia  the  tea  bricks  formed  a  good  part  of  the  cargo. 
The  compact  character  and  convenient  shape  of  the  cakes 
made  it  possible  to  transport  considerable  quantities  of  tea 
in  small  space. 

Foochow  used  to  be  one  of  the  great  tea  ports  but  has 
lost  a  large  part  of  its  trade.  It  is  in  Fukien  Province, 
of  which  Foochow  is  the  chief  port,  that  the  Oolong  teas 
are  grown.  These  are  so-called  from  a  range  of  hills  known 


The  Craftsman 


173 


as  the  Wu-lung,  or  “Mist  Dragon,”  Mountains.  To-day 
Foochow  is  distinguished  for  its  paper  mills.  The  best 
paper  is  made  from  bamboo  pulp. 

FANS  AND  INK 

Hangchow,  in  Chekiang,  is  the  city  which  exports  the 
largest  number  of  fans.  Anhui  Province  is  noted  as  fur¬ 
nishing  the  best  Chinese  ink.  It  is  made  of  lamp-black 
produced  by  burning  wood  oil  or  other  vegetable  oils.  The 
lamp-black  is  mixed  with  glue  and  scented  with  various 
perfumes.  The  small  bars,  after  being  hardened  and  dried, 
are  decorated  in  gold-leaf  with  floral  designs  or  inscribed 
with  poetical  sentiments.  Men  who  can  afford  it  sometimes 
have  their  own  names  or  seals  stamped  upon  them  in  gold. 

PEWTER  WARE 

Hankow  is  the  principal  port  for  the  shipment  of  wood 
oil.  For  pewter  ware  Ningpo  is  noted,  but  it  is  made  in 
many  other  places  as  well.  I  used  to  stroll  through  the 
narrow  lanes  of  old  Shanghai  to  study  the  processes  of 
Chinese  manufacture,  and  saw  the  pewterer  there  at  work. 
Few  homes  are  without  specimens  of  his  handicraft,  such 
as  tea-pots,  candle-stands,  wine  pitchers  and  incense 
burners. 

CANDLE  MAKING 

I  had  an  opportunity,  too,  of  watching  the  candle  makers 
at  their  work.  The  oil  expressed  from  the  berries  of  the 
tallow  tree  is  most  commonly  used,  but  beef  fat  is  employed 
to  some  extent.  The  candle-wick  is  composed  of  a  stem 
of  a  common  reed — the  Arundo  Phragmites — around  which 
the  pith  of  a  rush — the  Scirpus  Scapularis,  or  the  Juncus 
Effusus — is  carefully  and  closely  wrapped.  A  number  of 
these  fastened  to  a  light  stick  are  dipped  into  the  jar  of 
hot  oil  and  then  hung  up  to  dry.  The  operation  is  re¬ 
peated  until  the  candle  has  acquired  the  proper  size.  Those 
of  the  best  quality  are  then  coated  with  insect  wax  and  are 
commonly  dyed  red.  White  candles  are  also  used,  but 


174 


The  Craftsman 


never  on  any  ceremonial  occasions  of  a  joyful  character, 
for  white  is  the  color  of  mourning  and  such  white  candles 
are  used  at  funerals.  The  stem,  which  forms  the  inner 
part  of  the  wick,  projects  at  the  lower  end  of  the  candle, 
the  end  by  which  it  was  suspended,  and  is  used  for  fasten¬ 
ing  it  upon  the  candle-stick,  for  Chinese  candle-sticks  do 
not  have  a  socket  into  which  the  candle  is  thrust,  as  with 
us,  but  a  sharp  spike  on  which  the  candle  is  impaled. 
Western  candles  are  being  imported  in  great  quantity,  and 
with  them  the  foreign  candle-stick  also,  but  the  sale  of 
the  candles  would  probably  be  hastened  if  they  were  colored 
red. 

On  another  street  an  incense  manufacturer  was  beating 
into  a  proper  consistency  the  dough-like  mass  of  pulverized 
barks  and  gums  from  wdiich  the  “joss-sticks”  are  made. 
On  sieve-like  screens  before  his  door  the  finished  sticks  were 
drying  in  the  sun,  to  take  their  place  later  on  the  shelves 
of  the  shop  in  attractive  packages  wrapped  in  red  paper 
and  decorated  with  gilt. 

BEAN  CURD 

I  stopped  at  a  neighboring  door  to  watch  a  great,  lazy- 
looking  water-buffalo  turning  a  heavy  mill-stone  grinding 
beans.  In  a  shop  down  the  street  the  bean  flour  was  being 
cooked,  mixed  with  a  little  ground  gypsum  and  turmeric  to 
curdle  it.  The  cooked  paste,  wrapped  in  cloths,  was  placed 
in  a  cheese  press  from  which,  after  it  should  be  properly 
solidified,  it  would  be  taken,  cut  into  small  cakes  and  ex¬ 
posed  for  sale.  It  is  the  cheese  of  the  Chinese  and  a  very 
popular  article  of  diet,  rightly  so,  indeed,  in  a  land  where 
meat  is  too  dear  a  luxury  to  be  the  daily  food  of  the  poor. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  this  bean-curd ;  one  known  as 
the  “stinking  bean-curd”  rivals  the  choicest  cheeses  of 
Europe  in  odor.  At  an  oil-mill  another  variety  of  beans  was 
being  ground  and  pressed  for  its  oil.  The  refuse  finds  a 
ready  sale  for  fertilizing  purposes.  Vegetable  oils  are  in 
great  demand  in  China  for  culinary  and  other  domestic  pur¬ 
poses,  animal  fats  not  being  abundant  enough  to  supply  the 


The  Craftsman 


175 


need.  Besides  beans,  cotton-seed,  rape-seed,  peanuts  a  va¬ 
riety  of  tea,  or  camellia  seed,  hemp-seed,  sesamum,  seed  of 
the  castor-oil  plant  and  the  nuts  of  the  wood-oil  tree  are  all 
used  for  this  purpose.  The  oils  of  the  cotton,  rape,  beans, 
hemp  and  peanut  are  all  used  in  cooking,  and  the  bean  and 
rape-seed  oils  are  also  used  for  lamps.  The  lamp  of  the 
poor  man  is  merely  a  shallow  cup  with  a  spout  at  one 
side,  like  the  classic  lamp  of  ancient  Rome.  A  piece  of  rush 
pith  is  placed  in  it  for  a  wick.  The  soja  bean  is  used  for 
making  soy,  the  common  sauce  of  the  rich  and  poor  alike. 
It  is  said  to  have  suggested  to  the  English  the  manufacture 
of  their  Worcestershire  and  other  sauces. 

JEWELRY 

It  was  interesting  to  watch  a  jeweler  cutting  the  beauti¬ 
ful  feathers  of  the  “Turquoise’’  king-fisher  into  small  bits 
and  mounting  these  in  various  patterns  on  cheap  brass 
brooches  and  ear-rings.  The  finished  work  had  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  blue  enamel,  and  the  jewelry  is  very  popular 
among  the  poorer  Chinese  women.  More  delicate  work  of 
this  sort  is  done  on  the  Island  of  Hainan,  where  the  feathers 
are  mounted  on  silver,  making  a  very  attractive  combina¬ 
tion. 

Other  shops  devoted  themselves  to  silver-work,  and  others 
still  to  stringing  pearls  and  precious  stones  and  weaving 
them  into  elaborate  head-dresses  of  various  patterns.  Some 
took  the  shape  of  butterflies  and  others  of  flowers.  Gold, 
too,  is  used  in  considerable  quantity  for  jewelry;  it  is  not 
coined  at  all. 


FIRE-CRACKERS 

Fire-crackers  are  an  indispensable  article  in  every 
Chinese  home.  They  are  used  on  nearly  all  ceremonial 
occasions:  when  the  bride  starts  for  her  husband’s  home, 
at  funerals,  when  starting  on  a  journey,  on  all  religious 
festivals  and  other  holidays,  at  the  settlement  of  any  quar¬ 
rel  and  on  any  occasion  when  bad  luck  is  to  be  averted  or 


176 


The  Craftsman 


evil  spirits  frightened  away.  The  process  of  manufacture 
may  be  observed  in  almost  any  native  city,  but  Canton, 
perhaps,  supplies  the  greatest  quantity.  Several  sheets  of 
paper  cut  to  the  proper  size  are  laid  on  the  red  wrapper. 
One  end  of  the  latter  projects  a  little  and  is  moistened  with 
paste.  A  small  iron  rod,  not  unlike  a  knitting  needle,  is 
rolled  in  at  the  other  t!nd  of  the  pile,  and  with  one  stroke 
of  a  smooth  wooden  trowel  having  a  handle  like  a  plane 
the  rolling  operation  is  completed.  For  the  larger  kinds 
a  short,  heavy,  curved  plank  is  suspended  in  a  stout  frame¬ 
work  just  far  enough  above  the  table  to  catch  the  cracker 
and  roll  it  up.  These  shells  are  fastened  in  bundles  and 
set  on  end  for  the  process  of  filling  with  powder.  One  end 
is  stopped  with  a  little  clay.  The  fuse  is  inserted  at  the 
other  end  with  the  aid  of  an  awl.  An  interesting  variety 
is  known  as  the  “Twice-sounding  cracker,”  a  combination 
of  rocket  and  cracker.  To  make  these  the  larger  shells  are 
divided  into  two  chambers  by  a  wall  of  clay  through  which 
a  fuse  is  passed.  Both  chambers  are  filled  with  powder  and 
a  second  fuse  is  thrust  into  the  side  of  the  lower  chamber. 
When  this  is  lighted  the  explosion  in  this  chamber  throws 
the  cracker  high  into  the  air  where  the  second  charge  ex¬ 
plodes. 

Canton  is  celebrated  for  its  decoration  of  pottery.  The 
best  ware  is  brought  over  the  mountains  from  Chingte- 
chen,  in  Kiangsi,  in  an  unfinished  state.  At  Canton  the 
decoration  is  put  on  and  the  pieces  are  re-fired.  The  Can¬ 
tonese  matting  goes  into  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  their 
carvings  of  black  wood  and  of  ivory  are  exquisitely  beauti¬ 
ful. 


THE  WHEEL-BARROW 

The  presence  of  the  foreigner  has  introduced  into  Shang¬ 
hai  a  number  of  entirely  new  industries,  such  as  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  foreign  boots  and  shoes  and  other  Western  cloth¬ 
ing,  stove  casting,  safe  making,  ricksha  and  carriage  build¬ 
ing;  yet  even  in  the  European  settlements  the  old  still 
holds  its  place  in  competition  with  the  new.  Beside  the 


The  Craftsman 


177 


carriage  maker  the  wheelwright  builds  his  barrow,  the  only 
carriage  possible  on  the  narrow  roads  of  central  China. 
The  wheel  is  some  three  feet  in  diameter  with  felloes  four 
inches  wide.  The  tire  is  not  whole,  but  consists  of  sec¬ 
tions  each  fastened  on  with  rivets.  The  hub  is  solid.  A 
wooden  axle  driven  firmly  into  each  end  of  the  hub  revolves 
in  and  supports  the  frame-work  of  the  barrow.  Oil  is 
rarely  used  when  the  barrow-man  has  passed  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  foreign  policeman,  for  the  creaking  of  a 
long  caravan  of  heavily  laden  wheel-barrows  is  music  in¬ 
deed  to  the  weary  traveler’s  ear.  The  wheel  is  near  the 
middle  of  the  barrow  and  divides  it  into  two  parts,  an  open 
frame-work  of  wood  serving  to  protect  the  clothing  of  the 
passenger  or  the  wrappings  of  the  freight  from  injury. 
Passengers  ride  sidewise,  back  to  back,  as  in  an  Irish  jaunt¬ 
ing  car,  and  rope  stirrups  serve  to  support  their  feet.  A 
strap  fastened  to  the  handles  passes  over  the  shoulders  of 
the  barrow-man  and  helps  him  to  lift  and  guide  his  load. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  two  pairs  of  handles  are 
provided  and  two  men  are  employed  on  each  barrow,  one 
pulling  and  the  other  pushing.  A  single  man  often  conveys 
as  much  as  four  or  five  hundred  pounds  over  the  uneven 
roads  of  China  for  the  magnificent  sum  of  twenty-five  cents 
a  day. 


silk 

Silk  is  made  in  every  province  of  China.  In  Nanking 
it  was  estimated  that  there  were  before  the  revolution  more 
than  ten  thousand  looms  engaged  in  weaving  silks,  satins 
and  velvets,  employing  some  thirty  thousand  men.  Sev¬ 
eral  hundred  looms  belonged  to  the  imperial  factories  which 
supplied  the  Court  at  Peking  with  these  precious  fabrics. 
As  many  as  twenty  thousand  pieces  of  satin  have  been  sent 
in  a  single  year  overland  from  Nanking  to  the  Capital. 
Some  of  the  imperial  patterns  were  forbidden  entirely  to 
the  common  people,  chiefly  certain  damasks  and  pongees. 
To-day  the  cocoons  are  generally  sold  to  the  steam  filatures, 
but  formerly  the  silk  was  reeled  from  the  cocoons  by  ex- 


178 


The  Craftsman 


perts,  who  went  from  one  farm-house  to  another  and  put 
up  their  temporary  furnaces  of  clay  or  old  brick  in  the 
door-yard.  This  is  still  true  in  interior  districts.  In  the 
thin  iron  kettles  which  are  set  in  these  furnaces  they  boil 
the  cocoons  to  dissolve  the  glue  and  loosen  the  silk.  It  is 
very  important  that  the  water  should  be  perfectly  clean 
and  to  this  end  it  is  frequently  purified  beforehand  by 
putting  shell-fish  in  it  which  consume  the  impurities.  With 
a  piece  of  bamboo  in  his  hand,  one  end  of  which  is  split 
so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  coarse  brush,  the  reeler  gathers  up 
from  the  boiling  water  four  or  five  filaments  of  silk,  which 
he  reels  off  together  very  quickly  on  a  rude  wheel  worked 
by  hand  or  foot.  From  five  to  seven  filaments  twisted 
together  are  said  to  form  the  best  thread.  From  twenty-five 
to  forty  ounces  of  silk  are  reeled  in  a  single  day  by  one  man, 
whose  wages  amount  to  about  two  cents  an  ounce.  The  pupa 
is  often  used  for  food  and  by  some  is  considered  a  delicacy. 
It  is  reckoned  that  each  catty  of  cocoons  will  produce  one 
and  three-tenths  taels  of  silk.  A  tael  is  equal  to  one  and 
one-third  ounces  avoirdupois.  The  wild  cocoons  cannot  be 
reeled  in  the  same  way  as  those  which  are  the  product  of 
human  care,  but  are  washed  in  lye  water  and  spun  like 
cotton. 


DYES 

After  the  silk  is  reeled  it  is  sold  to  dealers  who  dispose 
of  it  to  the  weavers.  Before  being  woven,  however,  it  is 
sent  to  the  dyer,  who  is  well  skilled  in  the  art  of  coloring 
and  has  a  great  variety  of  dye-stuffs  at  his  command.  As 
noted  above  the  dye  industry  of  the  Chinese  was  revived 
during  the  late  war.  The  most  common  color  for  clothing 
is  blue.  Black  is  seen,  though  less  frequently,  for  work-a- 
day  wear,  but  on  holidays  and  ceremonial  occasions  the 
most  brilliant  combinations  are  seen.  The  bridal  dress  is 
red.  White  is  reserved  for  mourning,  though  the  deepest 
mourning  is  expressed  by  wearing  unbleached  sack-cloth. 
Buddhist  monks  and  nuns  confine  themselves  to  grey  or 
saffron.  Yellow  formerly  was  reserved  for  the  imperial 


The  Craftsman 


179 


family.  This  was  the  distinctive  color  of  the  Manchu 
Dynasty,  but  it  has  not  always  held  the  preeminence.  Some 
of  the  earlier  dynasties  chose  other  colors  for  the  Court 
dress;  during  the  Han  period — 206  B.C.  to  A.D.  220 — it 
was  carnation. 

For  blue  the  most  common  native  dye-stuffs  are  the 
Chinese  woad  (I satis  Indigofera) ,  dyer’s  knot-weed  ( Poly¬ 
gonum  tinctorium ) ,  and  true  indigo;  for  the  various  shades 
of  red,  Chinese  madder  ( Rubia  cor di folia) ,  safflower  and 
Tibetan  red  ( Crocus  sativus)  are  used;  for  green  the  ox- 
plum,  ©r  buck-thorn,  ( Rhamnus  parvifolius)  yields  its 
bark;  for  yellow,  sumac  (Rhus  cotinus),  turmeric  and  gam¬ 
boge  are  employed;  for  purple,  the  purple  plant  (Litho- 
sperum  erythrorhizon) ,  and  for  black  the  cupules  of  the 
acorn,  both  of  oak  and  chestnut-oak.  Besides  these  are 
many  imported  dyes,  chief  among  which  are  logwood  and 
sapanwood. 


weaving 

The  weaving  is  done,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  homes 
of  the  workmen.  The  imperial  factory  at  Nanking,  how¬ 
ever,  formerly  consisted  of  an  extensive  pile  of  barn-like 
brick  buildings,  separated  by  courts  and  alley-ways,  each 
containing  ten  or  a  dozen  looms.  The  windows  were  grated 
with  wooden  bars  which  in  winter  were  covered  with  paper. 
The  floor  was  of  brick  or  of  beaten  earth.  Three  men  were 
employed  at  each  loom,  one  for  the  warp,  one  for  the  pat¬ 
tern,  and  one  to  weave.  Each  loom  contained  a  piece  of 
heavy  satin,  or  silk  brocade  of  richest  colors ;  gold  or  blue 
or  scarlet,  or  it  might  be  a  damask  of  variegated  hues,  pink 
and  turquoise  woven  together  in  various  patterns  being  a 
favorite  combination.  Floral  designs  were  common,  and 
another  popular  figure  was  that  of  the  character  shou, 
“long  life.”  The  same  patterns  are  used  from  generation 
to  generation ;  there  appears  to  be  no  desire  to  cater  to 
the  changeable  tastes  of  the  West.  As  is  the  case  with 
government  employees  generally  the  world  over,  the  work¬ 
men  are  not  too  diligent,  and  one  of  them  assured  me  that 


180 


The  Craftsman 


two  feet  of  brocaded  silk  was  a  very  good  day’s  work. 
Ordinary  weavers,  however,  who  are  paid  by  the  piece, 
make  a  much  better  showing ;  a  master  and  his  two  appren¬ 
tices  will  weave  from  five  to  ten  yards  of  ordinary  silk  in 
a  day. 

China  gave  silk  to  the  world,  but  through  lack  of  intel¬ 
ligent  direction  and  cooperation  she  has  fallen  far  to  the 
rear  in  production.  The  nations  that  were  her  pupils  are 
now  her  teachers.  Want  of  selection  and  care  in  breeding, 
want  of  judgment  in  feeding,  want  of  proper  machines  for 
reeling  and  weaving — these  failings  have  made  China’s 
silk  less  desirable  than  that  of  other  countries.  The  Man- 
chus,  whose  chief  interest  in  government  seemed  to  be  to 
secure  revenues  for  selfish  enjoyment,  did  nothing  to  im¬ 
prove  the  quality  of  the  silk  production,  just  as  they 
ignored  all  advice  that  might  have  saved  the  tea  trade. 
But,  despite  the  handicap  of  civil  strife,  conditions  are 
somewhat  improved  under  the  republic.  There  are  some 
local  officials  who  see  the  importance  of  education  in  all 
lines  of  endeavor. 

The  improvement  in  the  quality  of  silk,  however,  is  due 
not  so  much  to  official  initiative  as  to  the  action  of  the  silk 
gilds  under  the  pressure  of  foreign  advice.  Defective 
reeling,  producing  an  uneven  thread,  was  a  cause  of  con¬ 
siderable  complaint,  and  in  1917  the  American  Silk  Asso¬ 
ciation  sent  out  a  representative  to  bring  the  matter  to  the 
attention  of  the  dealers.  The  visit  was  quite  a  success, 
and  much  improvement  has  already  been  noted.  1 

The  national  government  shows  interest  too.  Schools 
of  sericulture  are  being  established  and  efforts  are  being 
made  to  supply  the  people  with  good  eggs. 


COTTON 

In  this  as  in  other  industries,  no  doubt,  the  cottage  must 
eventually  give  way  to  the  factory,  but  the  change  will  come 
slowly.  The  China  Y ear  Book  for  1923  reports  more  than  356 
silk  filatures  in  China,  with  not  less  than  118,000  spindles. 


The  Craftsman 


181 


They  have  undoubtedly  increased  rapidly  within  a  few 
years  past.  But  the  weaving  is  still  done  for  the  most 
part  on  hand  looms,  and,  even  though  the  cocoons  may 
be  taken  to  the  filatures,  the  weavers  will  continue  for  a 
long  time  to  do  their  work  at  home.  The  situation  is  akin 
to  that  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton.  Cotton  spinning 
mills  have  been  in  existence  in  China  for  several  decades, 
and  have  rapidly  increased  in  number  during  the  past 
twenty  years.  It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  re¬ 
member  that  when  our  trade  with  China  began,  in  1784, 
one  of  the  chief  commodities  brought  from  China  was  cot¬ 
ton  piece  goods — the  nankeens  of  which  our  great  grand¬ 
mothers  were  so  fond.  It  was  the  invention  of  the  cotton 
gin  and  the  application  of  steam  to  the  loom  that  made  us 
exporters,  rather  than  importers,  of  cotton  goods.  Now 
we  have  carried  our  machinery  to  China,  and  the  former 
mistress  of  the  trade,  with  her  patient  workers  and  low 
wages,  may  yet  recover  her  ancient  position.  She  may  at 
least  be  able  to  supply  her  own  needs  at  a  price  with  which 
we  can  never  compete. 

In  Shanghai  alone  there  are  over  a  million  spindles  pro¬ 
ducing  cotton  yarn.  In  Hankow  there  are  116,000  spindles 
and  90,000  at  Tientsin,  but  very  few  of  these  mills  do  any 
weaving.  One  factory  at  Tientsin  reported  200  looms,  but 
had  not  begun  weaving  in  1919.  There  are  3500  looms  in 
Shanghai  mills  and  600  in  Hankow.  Generally  speaking, 
however,  the  mills  produce  yarn  rather  than  cloth,  and 
leave  the  weaving  to  the  hand-looms  in  the  cottages.  Com¬ 
menting  on  the  use  of  the  hand-looms  Julean  Arnold,  the 
American  Commercial  Attache  at  Peking,  in  his  Commer¬ 
cial  Handbook  of  China  (1919)  says:  “The  hand-loom  in 
industry  is  so  firmly  established  and  so  widespread  in 
China  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  will  be  seriously 
affected  for  some  time  to  come  by  the  competition  of  foreign 
cotton  goods.”6 

Among  the  reasons  assigned  for  this  judgment  is  the 
common  practice  among  farmers  of  buying  yarn  to  work 
up  into  coarse  cloth  during  the  dull  season  of  the  year. 

6  Op.  cit.,  Vol.  II,  p.  355. 


182 


The  Craftsman 


Many  homes  thus  supply  their  own  clothing.  The  use  of 
the  hand  loom  in  small  Chinese  factories  is  also  a  growing 
custom,  for  less  capital  is  required  for  such  than  would 
be  required  in  a  factory  employing  power  looms.  But  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  these  small  factories  of  50  to 
100  looms  indicates  a  movement  away  from  cottage  indus¬ 
try.  In  time  the  small  hand-loom  factories  will  be  forced 
to  surrender  to  the  more  economical  power-loom  and  huge 
mills  with  their  thousands  of  operatives. 


THE  STEAM  ENGINE 

The  Chinese  government  began  to  use  steam-driven  ma¬ 
chinery  sixty  years  ago  in  the  government  arsenals,  but 
no  encouragement  was  given  to  its  general  introduction  in 
private  manufacturing. 

The  fear  of  economic  disturbance,  of  social  unrest,  and 
accompanying  disorders  and  riots  had  something  to  do,  no 
doubt,  with  this  attitude,  but  the  want  of  company  laws 
that  would  encourage  cooperation  by  subscriptions  of  capi¬ 
tal  for  large  industrial  undertakings  no  doubt  was  a  con¬ 
tributing  cause. 

The  sewing  machine  and  the  portable  ginning  machine, 
however,  were  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  They  very 
easily  found  acceptance  with  the  people.  Far  in  the  in¬ 
terior  you  will  find  many  small  shops  using  the  “iron 
tailor”  as  the  sewing  machine  is  called  in  Chinese  slang. 

Gradually,  however,  the  Europeans  at  the  ports  in  their 
own  enterprises  introduced  the  steam  engine  and  trained 
Chinese  operatives  in  the  use  of  machinery.  Steamers 
appeared  on  inland  waters,  and  accustomed  the  natives 
to  the  sight  of  the  “fire  dragon.”  Nevertheless,  the  use 
of  steam-driven  machinery  in  manufacture  and  transpor¬ 
tation  “upset  the  rice  bowl”  of  many  a  poor  laborer  and 
created  considerable  ill  feeling.  When  the  Boxer  rising 
occurred,  in  1900,  the  first  foreign  invention  that  was 
attacked  was  the  railway  which  had  deprived  the  boatmen 
on  the  Pei  Ho  of  the  business  of  transporting  freight  from 


The  Craftsman 


183 


Tientsin  to  Peking.  The  rails  were  torn  up  and  the  shops 
at  Fengtai  were  set  on  fire.  Such  outbreaks  have  occurred 
in  other  countries  upon  the  sudden  introduction  of  labor- 
saving  machinery. 

But  it  is  beginning  to  be  realized  now  that  steam  and 
electricity  cheapen  production  and  so  benefit  all ;  that,  while 
one  form  of  industry  is  displaced,  new  openings  are  created, 
and  the  total  amount  of  employment  is  increased.  This 
brings  greater  diversification  of  industry  and  lessens  the 
pressure  of  competition  in  any  one  line.  It  has  in  fact 
already  brought  about  an  increase  of  wages  in  the  districts 
where  Western  machinery  has  been  introduced,  and  thus 
has  been  accompanied  by  an  improvement  in  the  standard 
of  living. 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  WESTERN  INVENTIONS 

Two  ill  effects  are  to  be  noted,  however,  as  resulting 
from  the  introduction  of  foreign  machinery  in  manufac¬ 
turing  in  China.  One  is  the  displacement  of  the  artist  by 
the  artisan;  the  other  the  bringing  of  the  cheap  labor  of 
China  into  competition  with  the  highly-paid  labor  of  the 
West,  in  the  production  of  those  goods  in  the  manufacture 
of  which  the  West  has  heretofore  enjoyed  a  monopoly.  In 
the  long  run  this  will  mean  the  transfer  of  capital  from 
the  West  to  the  East,  and  the  enforced  idleness  of  some  of 
our  own  operatives  whose  services  will  no  longer  be  needed 
because  our  export  trade  will  have  fallen  off. 

As  to  the  first-mentioned  evil,  while  it  may  be  admitted 
that  the  displacement  of  hand-made  goods  by  a  standard¬ 
ized  machine-made  product  brings  the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number,  one  cannot  but  regret  the  loss  of  the  more 
beautiful  artistic  product  of  brain  and  hand.  It  has  been 
suggested  by  a  recent  writer  7  that  the  curse  of  the  machine 
can  be  neutralized  by  the  employment  of  artists  as  de¬ 
signers  and  giving  them  credit  for  the  design — that  the 
beauty  of  an  industrial  object  is  not  lessened  by  its  repro- 

7  “Industrial  Art  and  the  Craftsman,”  by  Matlack  P,rice,  in  Arts 
and  Decorations,  Jan.,  1922. 


184  The  Craftsman 

duction,  and  though  a  thousand  copies  may  be  made  it  is 
still  beautiful. 

It  is  unreasonable,  however,  that  the  process  of  adopting 
foreign  inventions  should  be  carried  so  far  as  to  destroy 
native  culture  altogether,  and  make  the  fashions  of  the 
West  the  only  standard  of  good  taste.  Why  should  the 
whole  world  be  forced  to  wear  a  sacque  coat  and  a  bowler 
hat?  Why  should  the  graceful  gown  of  the  Chinese  with 
its  bright  colors  give  place  to  the  dull  greys,  browns  and 
blacks  and  the  ugly  shapes  of  European  dress?  Why  must 
the  whole  world  be  reduced  to  the  dead  level  of  uniformity ! 
The  charm  of  the  world — the  pleasure  of  living — is  in¬ 
creased  by  variety.  When  the  Creator  made  the  forest  he 
did  not  say  “Go  to,  let  us  make  a  tree”  and  then  create 
a  pine  only  and  declare:  “This  is  a  tree;  let  all  trees  be 
like  it  ” ;  but  He  made  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  arboreal 
forms.  The  customs  and  manners  of  men  also  become  the 
more  attractive  if  variety  is  preserved. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  present  craze  in  China  for  the 
adoption  of  everything  Western  will  subside,  and  a  reac¬ 
tion  set  in  for  the  preservation  of  at  least  a  remnant  of 
the  old  civilization.  It  is  surprising  to  note  how  even  many 
missionaries,  although  they  owe  their  religion  to  Asia, 
identify  Christian  civilization  with  the  customs  of  Europe 
— with  European  dress,  manners,  architecture  and  the 
mechanical  contrivances  of  the  West. 

But  St.  Paul  didn’t  wear  a  frock  coat  and  silk  hat. 
Socrates  and  Cicero  in  their  dress  approached  more  nearly 
to  that  of  the  old-fashioned  mandarin  than  to  that  of  the 
modern  gilt-edged  diplomat. 

As  to  the  second  evil,  the  bringing  of  American  labor 
into  competition  with  the  underpaid  labor  of  China,  the 
hope  of  the  world  would  seem  to  be,  not  in  a  leveling  down 
of  Western  standards  to  those  prevailing  among  the  work¬ 
men  of  the  Orient,  but  in  the  raising  of  the  standards  of 
the  East,  so  as  to  equalize  as  far  as  possible  the  happiness 
of  all  races. 

But  at  present  the  great  difference  in  the  level  of  wages 
East  and  West  tends  to  induce  a  flow  of  capital  to  the  East, 


The  Craftsman 


185 


despite  the  relative  inefficiency  of  the  cheaper  labor.  That 
labor,  however  much  lacking  in  experience  with  machinery, 
can  be  used  very  profitably  in  the  production  of  many 
articles.  This  is  shown  by  the  growth  of  industries  of  a 
foreign  type  in  China.  Among  these  are  the  silk  filatures 
already  mentioned.  There  are  also  many  cotton  mills  with 
over  three  million  spindles  and  some  seven  thousand 
looms,  producing  each  year  a  million  bales  of  yarn  and 
over  two  million  pieces  of  cotton  cloth. 

There  are  130  flour  mills  of  foreign  type,  thirty-five 
tanneries,  100  match  factories  and  sixteen  paper  mills. 
Besides  these  there  are  smelting  furnaces,  rolling  mills, 
ship  yards,  brick  and  cement  works,  chemical  dye  works, 
breweries,  egg  albumen  factories,  canneries  for  fruits, 
vegetables  and  meats,  glass  works,  cigarette  factories  and 
manufactories  of  electrical  supplies.  This  list  is  far  from 
exhaustive,  but  will  give  one  an  idea  of  the  wide  range 
of  foreign  industries  that  have  been  undertaken. 


MUNICIPAL  IMPROVEMENT 

In  addition  to  these  must  be  mentioned  municipal  utili¬ 
ties,  such  as  electric  lighting,  water  works,  gas  works,  tele¬ 
phones  and  street  railways.  There  are  over  200  cities 
supplied  with  electric  light,  a  convenience  unknown  out¬ 
side  of  the  Shanghai  foreign  settlements  when  the  writer 
went  to  China  in  1887. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  these  industries  of  foreign 
type  are  all  financed  by  Europeans  and  Americans.  That 
was  true  only  at  the  start,  but  Chinese  capitalists  soon 
found  it  profitable  to  buy  shares  in  these  foreign  com¬ 
panies,  and  during  the  past  fifteen  years  have  established 
not  a  few  concerns  that  are  wholly  Chinese. 

Not  many  years  ago  a  visit  was  made  to  a  sleepy  little 
city  called  T’ungchou,  situated  about  70  miles  from  Shang¬ 
hai  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Yangtze  River.  There  was 
no  wharf  or  steamer  landing.  The  steamer  paused  in  mid¬ 
stream  and  we  leaped  into  a  small  native  boat  and  were 


186 


The  Craftsman 


rowed  ashore,  where  we  scrambled  up  the  mud  bank  and 
then  hired  a  wheel-barrow,  which  carried  us  two  or  three 
miles  over  an  unpaved  path  to  the  city  gate. 

The  city  was  surrounded  by  a  brick  wall  and  moat,  and 
a  walk  through  its  streets  showed  it  to  be  wholly  mediaeval 
in  character,  without  the  slightest  sign  of  any  desire  for 
Western  innovations.  But  T’ungchou  is  in  the  midst  of  one 
of  the  best  cotton  growing  districts  of  China,  the  district 
that  made  the  nankeens,  once  so  much  in  demand  in  our 
own  country. 

To-day,  under  the  guiding  genius  of  Chang  Ch’ien,  that 
sleepy  little  city  has  been  converted  into  a  great  hive  of 
industry.  Great  cotton  spinning  and  weaving  mills  have 
been  erected  there.  Modern  roads  have  been  built,  and 
the  company  of  which  Mr.  Chang  is  head  has  its  own 
steamers  and  steamer  landing,  while  the  town  is  supplied 
with  electric  light,  telephones  and  all  the  conveniences  and 
inconveniences  of  modern  civilization.  The  company  main¬ 
tains  offices  in  Shanghai  and  New  York  and  does  a  thriving 
business. 

Another  enterprising  Chinese  capitalist  is  building  a 
similar  industrial  city  at  Chengchou,  in  Honan,  one  of  the 
central  provinces  of  China.  These  facts  indicate  the  direc¬ 
tion  in  which  industrial  life  in  China  is  moving. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  GUILDS 

There  were  in  this  city  (Hangchow)  twelve  guilds  of  the  different 
crafts  and  each  guild  had  12,000  houses  in  the  occupation  of  its 
workmen. — The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo. 

In  the  quiet,  quaintly-named  streets,  in  town-mead  and  market¬ 
place,  in  the  lord’s  mill  beside  the  stream,  in  the  bell  that  swung 
out  its  summons  to  the  crowded  borough-mote,  in  merchant-gild  and 
church-gild  and  craft-gild,  lay  the  life  of  Englishmen  who  were 
doing  more  than  knight  or  baron  to  make  England  what  she  is. 

Green’s  History  of  the  English  People. 

Attention  has  been  called  in  discussing  the  land  tenure 
of  China  to  the  fact  that  the  holdings,  as  a  rule,  are  small, 
and  that  this  promotes  independence  and  social  equality. 

I  have  spoken  also  of  the  influence  of  the  clan  organiza¬ 
tion  as  favoring  democracy,  and  of  the  existence  of  tithings 
and  village  elders  as  giving  a  degree  of  self-government. 

There  is  another  institution  which  may  also  be  said  to 
have  aided  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  establishment  of 
a  republic,  that  is  the  guild.  What  the  guilds  of  the  Mid¬ 
dle  Ages  were  to  Europe,  that  the  guilds  have  been  from 
a  still  more  ancient  time  to  China.  The  boroughs  of 
England  were  protected  in  their  ancient  privileges  by  the 
guilds  formed  among  the  townsmen,  and  in  China,  too, 
the  old-time  customs  and  rights  of  the  people  have  been 
jealously  guarded  by  similar  organizations. 

The  origin  of  these  associations  is  lost  in  the  mists  of 
antiquity.  No  doubt  the  claims  which  some  make  as  to 
origin  during  the  Chou  Dynasty  (1122-249  B.C.)  are 
impossible  of  acceptance,  but  it  is  true,  according  to 
the  Chou  Li  (the  ordinances  of  the  Chou  Dynasty) 
that  in  that  ancient  period,  during  the  existence  of 
the  city  states,  the  people  were  divided  into  nine  classes 

187 


188 


The  Guilds 


and  each  class  placed  under  a  leader  for  the  discharge  of 
its  duties.  The  fifth  class  was  engaged  in  manufacturing. 
The  sixth,  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  of  Trade,  at¬ 
tended  to  the  transport  and  distribution  of  goods.  The 
seventh  class,  composed  of  women,  engaged  in  the  weaving 
of  silk  and  linen.  We  do  not  know  how  far  this  theoretical 
division  of  labor  was  carried  out  in  practice,  but  conceiv¬ 
ably  these  arrangements  may  have  led  to  the  formation  of 
guilds.  In  any  case  we  know  this,  that  the  guilds  of  China 
throughout  the  ages  have  been  the  nurseries  of  independ¬ 
ence  and  a  check  upon  the  tyranny  of  officialdom. 

In  so  far  as  organizations  of  craftsmen  are  concerned, 
the  guilds  of  Europe  have  been  supplanted  by  trades  unions, 
but  the  trades  unions  lack  some  important  features  of  the 
ancient  guilds.  The  latter  were  associations  of  all  who 
were  engaged  in  a  given  trade;  the  master  who  supplied 
the  capital  and  the  craftsmen  and  apprentices  who  were 
employed  by  him.  Capital  and  labor  were  united  for 
mutual  assistance  and  protection.  In  the  modern  world 
organized  capital,  in  huge  corporations,  is  separated  from 
the  organized  labor  of  the  unions,  and  is  often  hostile  to 
it.  A  movement  now  in  progress  is  seeking  the  revival  of 
the  guild  as  a  method  of  reconciling  the  interests  of  capital 
and  labor,  and  as  a  solution  of  the  problem  of  unemploy¬ 
ment.  This  some  believe  would  bring  peace  to  the  indus¬ 
trial  world.  Perhaps  the  formation  of  cooperative  societies, 
and  the  various  plans  of  profit  sharing  that  have  been  in¬ 
troduced,  point  to  the  future  acceptance  of  some  such 
organization  as  the  guild. 

In  view  of  this  attempted  revival  of  an  old  institution, 
a  description  of  Chinese  guilds  may  be  of  interest.  But  it 
must  not  be  supposed  that  the  information  to  be  obtained 
can  be  of  any  important  assistance  in  the  solution  of  the 
complex  economic  problems  of  the  West.  The  Chinese 
industrial  situation,  although  undergoing  transformation, 
is  still  in  too  primitive  a  condition  to  afford  such  assistance. 

Chinese  guilds  are  of  four  kinds;  the  craft  guild,  the 
merchant  guild,  the  community  guild  and  the  provincial 
guild. 


The  Guilds 


189 


THE  CRAFT  GUILDS 

The  craft  guilds  are  local  only.  They  are  limited  to  one 
craft  in  one  town.  The  carpenters’  guild  of  Soochow  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  carpenters’  guild  of  Shanghai. 
There  is  no  provincial  union  of  carpenters,  much  less  any 
approach  to  a  national  guild  of  carpenters.  A  similar 
condition  exists  in  other  trades. 

The  organization  of  these  guilds  varies  somewhat  from 
place  to  place,  but  they  all  possess  certain  features  in  com¬ 
mon.  The  membership  usually  includes  all  the  followers 
of  a  particular  craft,  masters  as  well  as  workmen,  within 
the  district  concerned.  No  craftsman,  in  fact,  can  afford 
to  remain  outside  the  order.  He  would  be  ostracized,  and 
in  some  cases  might  suffer  bodily  harm.  The  members  are 
not  always  drawn,  however,  from  the  citizens  of  the  place 
in  which  the  guild  is  located.  In  some  instances  the  guild 
is  formed  entirely  of  men  from  some  other  city,  and  often 
from  some  other  province.  Thus  the  fish-hook  makers  of 
Wenchow  are  all  from  Foochow.  The  guild  rules  will  not 
permit  the  admission  of  any  man  from  any  other  place 
than  Foochow.  The  needle  makers  of  Wenchow  are  all 
from  T’aichou,  in  Chehkiang,  or  from  the  province  of 
Kiangsu.  The  gold-beaters  of  Wenchow  all  come  from  the 
neighboring  city  of  Ningpo.1 

The  regulations  of  the  guilds  are  difficult  to  obtain.  There 
is  much  secrecy  observed  in  all  the  transactions  of  the 
craft  guilds.  Although  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a 
good  many  artisans,  and  obtained  much  information  from 
them  relating  to  their  crafts,  every  effort  to  obtain  copies 
of  the  guild  regulations  was  a  failure.  A  number  of  fea¬ 
tures  of  these  organizations,  however,  have  become  known. 

The  members  of  the  guild  are  all  on  a  footing  of  equality 
in  so  far  as  guild  matters  are  concerned.  Each  has  a  voice 
in  the  selection  of  the  officers  and  in  determining  the  regu¬ 
lations.  The  control  is  democratic.  A  managing  committee 

i  These  instances  are  given  by  Morse  in  his  “ Guilds  of  China, ” 
but  quoted  from  Macgowan’s  monograph  on  that  subject,  p.  181. 


190 


The  Guilds 


is  elected  annually  by  the  members.  This  often  consists 
of  twelve  persons,  each  one  of  whom  serves  as  chairman 
and  general  manager  of  the  guild  for  one  month.  Some¬ 
times  the  committee  is  much  smaller.  The  carpenters  of 
Wenchow  have  a  committee  of  five  to  manage  the  guild. 
The  millers  of  the  same  city  some  years  ago  organized  a 
guild  of  sixteen  flour  mills  located  there.  The  sixteen  pro¬ 
prietors  elected  a  committee  of  four,  but  arranged  the  elec¬ 
tion  so  that  each  one  of  the  sixteen  would  serve  on  the 
committee  in  regular  rotation.2 

Often  there  is  also  elected  a  treasurer  to  serve  one  year. 
Those  that  are  well  supplied  with  funds  employ  a  paid 
secretary,  who  must  be  a  graduate  so  that  he  can  better 
represent  the  interests  of  the  guilds  in  the  courts,  when¬ 
ever  that  becomes  necessary.  Some  guilds  also  employ  a 
chaplain,  who  attends  to  the  religious  services  in  honor  of 
the  patron  saint  and  reads  masses  for  the  dead.  On  the 
fete  day  of  the  saint  there  is  sometimes  a  pageant.  More 
often  there  is  a  feast  at  the  guild  hall,  followed  by  a  the¬ 
atrical  entertainment.  All  guilds  have  their  religious  fea¬ 
tures,  for  they  are  dedicated  to  some  saint  or  deity  under 
whose  protection  they  rest.  The  poorest  are  accustomed 
to  meet  in  the  city  temple,  which  is  always  open  to  any  citi¬ 
zen.  Such  a  use  of  the  building  would  naturally  call  for 
certain  offerings  of  incense  and  candles  on  the  altars.  The 
mediaeval  guilds  of  Europe,  also,  all  had  their  patron  saints. 
The  shoe-makers  had  St.  Christopher,  the  tailors  St.  John 
the  Baptist.  So  in  China  the  carpenters  and  masons  have 
Lu  Pan.  He  was  a  well-known  artisan  of  the  State  of 
Lu  in  the  days  of  Confucius.  Mencius  speaks  of  him.  He 
was  said  to  be  so  skillful  that  he  made  a  miracle-working 
image  which  brought  a  drought  upon  the  neighboring  state 
of  Wu.  This  was  done  to  punish  the  men  of  Wu  who  had 
murdered  the  father  of  Lu  Pan.  The  story  tells  us  that 
the  drought  lasted  three  years,  and  was  brought  to  an  end 
by  Lu  Pan  after  the  people  of  Wu  had  petitioned  him  and 
paid  him  a  good  sum  of  money.  The  image  had  one  hand 
outstretched  towards  the  state  of  Wu.  When  Lu  Pan 

2  These  two  instances  are  recorded  by  Macgowan, 


The  Guilds 


191 


would  end  the  drought  and  bring  the  desired  rain  he  cut 
off  the  offending  hand. 

Many  Chinese  crafts  place  themeslves  under  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  the  God  of  War,  others  under  that  of  Kuanyin, 
the  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Some  worship  the  Queen  of  Heaven, 
that  is  to  say  the  Moon,  whose  birthday  comes  at  the  time 
of  the  harvest  moon  in  September.  The  druggists  of  Wen¬ 
chow  have  Huat’ou,  the  God  of  Medicine,  for  their  patron 
deity. 

Some  of  the  guilds  are  very  wealthy.  The  income  is  de¬ 
rived  usually  from  an  entrance  fee,  from  fines  and  from 
certain  taxes  on  the  trade.  The  fishmongers  of  Ningpo 
make  a  deposit  of  $3000  on  being  admitted  to  membership.3 
This  is  a  guarantee  against  breach  of  the  regulations.  They 
also  pay  an  annual  tax  whose  amount  depends  upon  the 
number  of  boats  engaged  in  fishing.  This  is  one  of  the  very 
wealthy  guilds.  The  druggists  of  Ningpo  are  said  to  have 
an  income  of  $500,000  4  a  year.  Part  of  this  is  probably 
derived  from  invested  funds. 

The  guilds  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  for 
the  craft.  Although  the  Government  has  adopted  a  uni¬ 
form  system  of  weights  and  measures,  it  has  not  found 
acceptance  outside  official  transactions.  Each  craft  has  its 
own,  and  the  confusion  that  exists  is  astonishing  to  a 
stranger.  The  unit  of  weight  is  the  chin,  or  catty.  The 
word  chin  literally  translated  means  “a  hatchet.”  By 
treaty  it  is  fixed  as  the  equivalent  of  one  and  one-third 
pounds  avoirdupois,  or  21.33  ounces,  but  this  agreement 
does  not  affect  domestic  transactions.  The  weight  varies 
in  the  several  trades  from  4  ounces  avoirdupois  for  tea  in 
Peking  and  16  ounces  for  fruit  at  Ningpo,  to  18.55  for  oil 
at  Nanking  and  20  for  metals  at  Canton  to  28  for  coal 
in  Honan.  The  chin  is  divided  as  our  pound  is  into  16 
parts,  which  the  Chinese  call  Hang,  but  which  are  better 
known  as  taels.  This  is  one  of  the  few  instances  in  which 
the  Chinese  depart  from  the  decimal  system  in  their  tables 
of  weights  and  measures.  One  hundred  chin,  or  catties, 

3  Morso,  op,  qHv  14. 

4  Ibid.  ' 


192 


The  Guilds 


are  called  a  tan ,  or  picul.  The  picul,  of  course,  varies  with 
the  sort  of  chin  that  is  used. 

The  unit  measure  of  capacity  is  the  ton,  or  peck.  In 
Nanking  for  rice  it  contains  558.3  cubic  inches.  In  Shang¬ 
hai  for  rice  728.6,  but  for  beans  only  655.4  cubic  inches. 
In  Ningpo  a  ton  of  rice  measures  565  cubic  inches,  but  in 
Swatow  768.8.  Ten  ton  make  a  shih,  or  stone,  which  in 
Nanking  rice  would  weigh  180.40  lbs.  av.,  considerably 
more  than  a  stone  in  English  weight.  A  half-s/wTi,  or 
5  ton,  is  known  as  a  hu,  and  a  tenth  of  a  ton  is  a  sheng, 
which  is  a  near  approach  to  our  pint,  34.66  cu.  in.  The 
smallest  sheng  contains  nearly  31  cu.  in.,  the  largest  about 
95.  The  Government,  under  the  Manchu  regime,  kept  a 
standard  hu  in  the  yamens  with  which  to  measure  the 
tribute  rice.  County  magistrates  paying  the  tribute  rice 
were  compelled  to  send  their  measures  to  the  yamen  to 
be  tested,  and  their  capacity  was  recorded.  Theoretically 
the  tou  is  divided  into  quadrillionth  parts  by  a  decimal 
system  of  measures  descending  through  the  sheng,  ko,  shao, 
etc.,  to  the  ho. 

The  linear  unit  is  the  ch’ih,  or  foot,  which  is  divided  into 
ten  ts’un,  or  inches.  The  foot  is  fixed  by  treaty  at  14.1 
inches  English,  but  in  common  practice  its  length  depends 
upon  locality  and  upon  the  calling.  In  Shantung,  in  the 
city  of  Linch  ’ingchou,  a  foot  in  brick-work  is  11.15  inches, 
in  land  measure  12.2  inches,  and  in  measuring  cloth  it  is 
23.75  inches.  In  the  neighboring  city  of  Tsinan  the  land 
measure  is  a  foot  of  14.55  inches  and  the  cloth  measure  one 
of  21.4  inches.  In  Nanking  the  tailor’s  foot  is  13.75  inches, 
while  the  carpenter’s  is  12.5  inches. 

The  guilds  also  regulate  wages  and  determine  the  number 
of  apprentices  which  a  master  may  take.  Some  years 
ago  the  members  of  the  gold-beaters’  guild  of  Soochow 
killed  one  of  their  fellows  for  taking  more  apprentices  than 
the  rules  permitted.5  The  apprentice  pays  for  the  priv¬ 
ilege  of  learning  the  trade.  He  is  bound  to  the  master  for 
a  period  of  years  and  during  that  period  he  receives  no 
wages,  but  he  is  given  quarters  and  board  in  his  master’s 

6  Macgowan,  p.  182. 


The  Guilds 


193 


home.  After  his  apprenticeship  he  is  required  in  some 
cases  to  serve  his  master  for  another  period  for  wages.  In 
some  guilds,  according  to  Macgowan,  no  master  is  allowed 
any  apprentices  except  sons  and  nephews.  Although  the 
journeymen  are  members  of  the  guild  they  do  at  times 
strike  to  force  the  masters  to  raise  wages.  In  some  crafts 
the  city  is  districted,  and  a  member  of  the  guild  is  for¬ 
bidden  to  take  a  contract  outside  his  own  district.  This, 
of  course,  lessens  competition. 

The  introduction  of  foreign  machinery,  driven  by  steam 
or  electricity,  has  greatly  injured  handicrafts  that  are  thus 
brought  into  competition  with  machine  manufacture.  The 
cheap  production  of  the  factory  may  be  less  artistic  than 
the  hand-made  article,  but  cheapness  wins  with  the  masses. 
Apprenticeship  in  certain  lines  has  therefore  become  unde¬ 
sirable,  and  the  guilds  of  such  trades  are  naturally  losing 
power.  Trade  unionism  has  not  yet  supplanted  the  guild 
in  China,  but  the  large  combinations  of  capital  that  are 
investing  in  factories  are  separating  the  master  from  the 
workmen,  and  are  likely  to  bring  about  in  China  the 
formation  of  provincial  and  national  unions  of  laborers, 
as  has  been  done  in  other  lands,  and  array  capital  and 
labor  in  opposing  camps. 

THE  MERCHANT  GUILDS 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  the  craft  guilds 
and  the  merchant  guilds.  They  are  organized  on  the  same 
general  plan.  Moreover,  many  craftsmen  are  also  mer¬ 
chants.  They  maintain  their  small  establishments  with 
their  own  capital,  and  open  shops  in  which  they  retail  their 
own  manufactures.  This,  of  course,  was  once  true  in  the 
West  also.  Many  merchants,  too,  whose  prime  business  is 
to  distribute  goods,  are  also  engaged  in  manufacturing. 
The  tea  merchant,  for  example,  in  the  wholesale  trade  is 
generally  engaged  also  in  firing  and  packing  the  tea. 

But  the  general  distinction  between  the  craft  guild  and 
the  merchant  guild  is  clear.  One  is  engaged  in  production, 
the  other  in  distribution.  One  is  a  combination  of  artisans 
whose  capital  is  small  or  who  work  for  wages;  the  other 


194 


The  Guilds 


is  a  combination  of  traders  whose  capital  is  sufficient  for 
large  commercial  ventures. 

The  artisan  guilds,  as  a  rule,  are  too  poor  to  afford  guild 
halls.  They  meet  in  temples.  There  are  exceptions  but 
they  are  few.  On  the  other  hand  the  merchants  who  form 
a  guild  generally  build  beautiful  and  costly  guild  halls. 

The  Bankers’  Guild  of  Shanghai  has  one  of  the  most 
attractive  of  these  halls  to  be  found  anywhere  in  China. 
A  facade  of  grey  tiles,  unglazed  but  planed,  is  surmounted 
by  a  highly  ornamental  roof  with  dragons  on  the  upturned 
corners.  A  pair  of  stone  lions  guards  the  entrance.  A 
triple  gate-way  opens  into  a  court-yard.  A  series  of  large 
buildings  separated  by  courts  constitutes  the  guild  hall. 
There  is  a  shrine  dedicated  to  the  God  of  Wealth,  with 
an  image  of  that  worthy  deity,  and  a  theater  for  the  pres¬ 
entation  of  the  plays  that  are  frequently  given.  The  council 
room  of  the  guild  is  richly  furnished  with  carved  black- 
wood,  and  all  the  appointments  are  in  keeping. 

In  the  matter  of  membership  the  merchant  guilds  appear 
to  be  quite  unlike  the  craft  guilds.  In  many  of  the  former 
admission  to  the  guild  is  limited  to  one  representative  of 
each  firm.  The  object  of  this  provision  seems  to  be  to 
prevent  any  one  firm  from  acquiring  too  much  power  in 
the  guild.  Since  all  are  competitors  in  the  same  line  of 
trade  this  is  an  important  provision. 

Each  of  the  merchant  guilds  regulates  the  trade  with 
which  it  is  concerned.  The  guild  determines  standards  of 
quality,  fixes  and  enforces  penalties  for  adulteration  or 
other  violation  of  the  rules,  establishes  rates  of  commission, 
methods  of  payment,  forms  of  bills  of  lading,  rates  of  ex¬ 
change,  and  determines  other  matters  in  which  there  is  a 
common  interest. 

As  in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages  some  guilds  were 
authorized  to  hold  court  and  settle  disputes  among  their 
members,  so  in  China,  although  without  express  authoriza¬ 
tion  by  the  Government,  the  guilds  attempt  to  settle  all 
such  difficulties.  Some  guilds  forbid  their  members  to 
bring  suit  in  an  official  court  against  a  fellow  member. 
Violation  of  this  rule  will  deprive  the  offender  of  the  sup- 


The  Guilds 


195 


port  of  the  guild  in  any  subsequent  trouble.  In  some  cases 
a  heavy  fine  is  inflicted  for  such  offense.  It  may  even 
cause  expulsion  from  the  guild. 

If  a  reputable  member  of  the  guild  becomes  involved  in 
a  suit  at  law  or  is  prosecuted  by  the  Government  the 
guild  will  come  to  his  assistance  and  go  surety  for  him. 
But  if  a  member  is  found  guilty  of  a  serious  offense  the 
guild  will  arrest  him  and  deliver  him  to  the  authorities. 

Although  most  of  the  merchant  guilds  are  like  the  craft 
guilds  in  having  a  merely  local  character,  there  are  some 
which  exercise  a  wider  control.  The  Shanghai  guilds,  for 
instance,  which  control  the  trade  in  tea  and  silk  at  that 
port,  are  in  a  position  to  dictate  the  policy  of  the  guilds 
in  other  localities  which  have  to  do  with  trade  in  those 
articles,  for  they  are  in  close  association  with  the  foreign 
buyers  and  have  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  conditions 
of  the  export  trade.  It  is  the  Bankers’  Guild,  however, 
which  exercises  the  widest  control.  It  is  the  only  one 
which  exercises  anything  like  a  national  influence. 

For  centuries  past  the  bankers  of  China  have  been  drawn 
almost  wholly  from  the  province  of  Shansi.  It  is  a  curious 
feature  of  business  life  in  China  that  certain  districts  have 
secured  a  monopoly  of  certain  occupations.  Thus  all  the 
clerks  in  the  yamens  of  China  are  drawn  as  a  rule  from 
Shaohsingfu  in  Kiangsu  Province.  All  the  eunuchs  of 
the  Peking  palaces  during  the  Manchu  regime  came  from 
Hochienfu,  Chihli,  and  Shansi  has  long  enjoyed  a  mo¬ 
nopoly  of  banking.  The  Bankers’  Guild  has  a  branch  in 
every  important  city,  and  thus  it  is  possible  to  buy  bills 
of  exchange  on  any  part  of  the  country.  The  guild  fixes 
rates  of  discount  and  interest  and  determines  the  exchange 
between  the  various  currencies  of  the  country.  That  is  a 
matter  of  serious  importance  in  trade  and  travel,  for  the 
currencies  are  too  numerous  to  catalogue.  In  some  parts 
of  the  Republic  the  Hongkong  dollar  is  the  standard  coin, 
minted  by  the  British  Crown  Colony  of  Hongkong.  In 
Shanghai  the  common  currency  is  the  Mexican  dollar.  In 
Anhui  Province  it  is  the  old  Carolus  dollar  of  Spain.  In 
Tientsin  it  is  the  Chinese  dollar.  Formerly  the  money  of 


196 


The  Guilds 


the  people  was  the  brass  cash,  a  circular  coin  with  a  square 
hole  in  the  center.  These  coins  were  strung  on  strings 
of  straw,  in  hundreds  or  thousands.  A  thousand  was  com¬ 
monly  called  a  tiao.  But  in  reality  the  string  of  a  hundred 
contained  but  98,  and  in  some  cases  but  95.  There  were 
two  strings  of  95  each  in  a  tiao ,  so  that  a  tiao  really  num¬ 
bered  974. 

In  1892  a  Mexican  dollar  at  Shanghai  exchanged  for 
1050  cash.  In  1897  it  brought  but  900.  The  price  of 
copper  had  risen  in  the  meantime  and  the  value  of  silver 
had  fallen.  In  1919  a  Chinese  silver  dollar  brought  1300 
cash.  This  was  due  chiefly,  no  doubt,  to  the  rise  in  the 
value  of  silver  brought  about  by  the  Great  War. 

Some  years  ago,  owing  to  the  rise  in  the  price  of  copper, 
the  Chinese  Government  ceased  the  coinage  of  cash  and 
minted  one-cent  pieces  instead.  These,  however,  were  token 
coins,  and  the  people  of  China  are  not  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  such  coins.  They  passed  for  a  while  at  100  to  the 
Chinese  or  the  Mexican  dollar,  but  when  the  Government 
refused  to  receive  100  in  payment  of  a  dollar  in  taxes,  the 
quotations  fell,  so  that  to-day  a  silver  dollar  will  bring 
about  112  copper  cents.5a 

But,  while  the  brass  cash  and  the  copper  cent  are  the 
coins  most  used  by  the  people,  in  all  large  transactions 
prices  are  reckoned  in  taels.  The  tael  is  not  a  coin,  but 
a  weight  of  silver — that  is  to  say  a  liang,  or  Chinese  ounce 
of  silver.  But,  as  already  pointed  out,  the  liang  varies 
in  actual  weight  everywhere,  and  in  the  valuation  of  a  liang 
of  silver  it  is  necessary  not  only  to  know  the  real  weight, 
but  the  pureness  of  the  silver  as  well.  There  are  frequently 
several  kinds  of  taels  used  in  the  same  city,  and  in  going 
from  place  to  place  the  varieties  are  multitudinous. 

I  have  a  table  of  the  weight  and  fineness  of  91  different 
taels.  They  vary  in  weight  from  520  to  583.3  grains,  and 
in  fineness  from  900  to  1000.  The  customs  tael,  which 
exists  only  in  imagination,  is  known  as  the  Haikwan  tael, 
and  is  1000  fine  and  weighs  583.3  grains.  But  in  paying 

sa  The  China  Year  Book,  1923,  says  depreciation  of  cent  caused 
dollar  to  vary  from  169  to  203  cents  in  1922. 


The  Guilds 


197 


duties,  one  pays  in  local  taels,  and  as  the  local  tael  is 
merely  bar  silver,  or  sycee,  the  payment  is  usually  made 
in  dollars.  Hence,  the  duty  in  Customs  taels  must  be 
reduced  to  its  equivalent  in  local  taels,  and  that  to  its 
equivalent  in  Chinese  dollars.  Thus  China  is  the  paradise 
of  money  changers,  and  in  other  days  the  angel  that  stood 
guard  over  that  paradise  was  the  Shansi  Bankers’  Guild. 
Formerly  the  power  was  much  greater  than  to-day.  It 
could  control  the  financial  policy  of  the  Government.  But 
in  these  latter  days  the  heavy  foreign  indebtedness,  the 
establishment  in  China  of  powerful  foreign  banks,  and  the 
creation  of  rival  Chinese  institutions,  have  curtailed  to  a 
considerable  degree  the  power  of  Shansi. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  control  over  financial  trans¬ 
actions  exercised  by  the  Bankers’  Guild  I  quote  a  few  of 
the  rules  of  the  guild  in  Wuhu.6 

1.  Sycee  must  be  changed  into  dollars  at  the  rate  posted ;  other¬ 
wise  a  fine  of  Tls.  100  will  be  imposed. 

2.  Shanghai  drafts  must  be  sold  at  the  posted  rate,  and  for 
10  days  after  sight  or  12  days  after  date.  Violation  of  this  rule 
entails  a  fine  of  Tls.  100. 

*•••••• 

5.  Members  of  the  guild  must  attend  its  meetings  held  on  the 
15th  of  each  moon  to  fix  rates.  Anyone  who  adopts  another  rate 
will  be  fined  Tls.  100. 

6.  No  drafts  may  be  ante-dated  or  post-dated. 

7.  A  deposit  of  Tls.  100  must  be  made  by  members  to  cover 
possible  fines. 

8.  If  the  member  should  be  fined,  another  deposit  of  Tls.  100 
will  be  required. 

9.  Informers  will  receive  one-half  of  the  fine. 


PROVINCIAL  GUILDS 

The  name  “Provincial  Guild”  inaccurately  describes 
the  character  of  the  third  sort  of  guilds.  They  are  asso¬ 
ciations  of  men  from  the  same  province  who  are  living 
away  from  home,  and  generally  in  a  province  of  which  they 

6  Decennial  reports  of  the  Chinese  Maritime  Customs,  1882-91, 
p.  289. 


198 


The  Guilds 


are  not  natives.  Sometimes,  however,  the  membership  is 
restricted  to  men  who  have  come  from  the  same  city  or 
from  a  common  prefecture.  The  attachment  to  home  is 
very  strong  in  a  Chinese.  I  have  known  men  in  Peking, 
who  were  born  in  that  city  and  whose  ancestors  for  two 
or  three  generations  had  resided  there,  who,  nevertheless, 
spoke  of  themselves  as  belonging  to  distant  provinces. 
‘  ‘  What  is  your  native  province  ?  ’  ’  you  will  ask  such  a  man, 
and  he  may  reply:  “Kiangsi,  but  it  is  500  years  since 
my  family  left  there/’ 

It  is  readily  understood,  then,  that  when  men  of  the  same 
province  meet  in  a  city,  far  distant  from  their  home  and 
where  they  are  engaged  in  business,  they  will  be  drawn 
one  toward  another.  This  tendency  is  strengthened  by  the 
differences  of  dialect  which  make  it  so  difficult  for  Chinese 
of  different  regions  to  communicate  with  each  other. 

The  provincial  guilds  usually  build  attractive  guild 
houses  which  are  in  the  nature  of  clubs.  There  the  mem¬ 
bers  congregate  and  discuss  common  interests.  Visitors 
from  home  are  introduced  and  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the 
club.  There  are  rooms  to  be  rented  to  such  visitors  at 
low  rates.  There  is  a  kitchen,  a  dining-room,  and  a  chef 
who  is  familiar  with  the  preparation  of  home  dishes.  There 
are  rooms  for  games,  sometimes  a  theater,  and  usually  a 
hall  for  public  meetings. 

The  guild  stands  sponsor  for  its  members  or  for  fellow 
provincials,  properly  introduced,  and  it  also  exercises  a 
wholesome  restraint  over  them  by  threatening  to  withdraw 
support  if  the  practices  of  a  firm  or  an  individual  are  con¬ 
trary  to  the  rules.  The  influence  of  the  guild,  too,  is  used 
to  promote  the  political  advancement  of  expectant  or  sub¬ 
stantive  officials  from  the  province  or  district  represented. 
When  such  an  official  takes  office  in  the  town  where  the 
guild  is  located,  he  is  expected  to  make  a  handsome  con¬ 
tribution  to  the  funds  of  the  guild,  and  he  in  turn  is  hos¬ 
pitably  entertained  by  the  guild. 

These  guilds  are  also  benevolent  societies.  They  provide 
relief  for  their  fellow  provincials  who  may  be  in  distress, 
and  they  have  a  cemetery  where  the  remains  of  those  who 


The  Guilds 


199 


die  away  from  home  may  be  buried  until  opportunity 
offers  to  send  the  remains  to  the  distant  family  grave  plot. 
If  such  fellow  townsmen  died  unprovided  with  funds,  the 
guild  will  bear  the  expense  of  the  funeral  and  the  cost  of 
shipping  the  body  home. 

These  provincial  guilds  are  organized  on  much  the  same 
plan  as  the  craft  guilds.  The  members  elect  annually  a 
committee  of  managers,  each  one  of  whom  serves  for  a 
time  as  president.  There  is  a  paid  secretary  who  must  be 
a  graduate,  and  who  is  the  active  representative  of  the 
guild.  Funds  are  raised  usually  by  a  light  tax  on  the  trade 
of  the  members.  For  example,  the  Ningpo  Guild  at  Wen¬ 
chow  has  a  committeeman  from  each  of  the  important  trades 
conducted  by  the  members,  and  charges  $2.00  per  thousand 
on  the  value  of  cargo,  except  cotton  and  dried  fish.  The 
cotton  pays  $0.20  a  bale  of  120  catties,  and  the  dried  fish 
44  cash  a  package.  Members  not  receiving  cargo  pay  from 
300  to  1000  cash  a  month,  according  to  the  amount  of  their 
business.  The  Hanyang  Guild  at  Ichang  levies  a  tax  on 
trade,  and  also  collects  300  cash  from  each  junk  for  each 
trip  made.  Working  men  pay  30  cash  a  month  and  clerks 
2  per  cent  of  their  salaries.7 

In  Chungking  eight  guilds,  representing  as  many  differ¬ 
ent  provinces,  are  associated  together  in  one  general  guild 
for  mutual  protection  and  assistance.  They  maintain  a 
fire  department,  a  volunteer  military  company,  adjust 
cases  in  bankruptcy,  raise  relief  funds,  and  support  an 
orphanage  and  other  charitable  institutions.8 


COMMUNITY  GUILDS 

There  are  two  places  in  China  where  the  guild  assumes 
charge  of  the  municipal  administration,  in  addition  to  the 
oversight  of  trade.  These  are  Swatow,  in  Kuangtung  Prov¬ 
ince,  and  Newchwang,  in  Shengking.  That  in  Newchwang 
is  called  “The  Great  Guild  of  Newchwang,’'  and  that  at 

7  Decennial  Reports  of  Chinese  Maritime  Customs,  1882-91,  p.  158. 

&  Decennial  Reports  of  Maritime  Customs,  p.  119. 


200 


The  Guilds 


Swatow  is  the  “Swatow  Guild.’ ’  The  latter  is  composed 
of  representatives  from  six  counties  and  is  divided  into 
two  sections,  each  covering  three  counties.  Each  section 
has  24  representatives.  Two  of  these  from  each  section 
serve  in  turn  for  one  month,  one  as  accountant,  the  other 
as  treasurer,  the  four  together  constituting  for  that  month 
the  managing  committee.  The  guild  acts  as  a  municipal 
government,  as  a  board  of  trade,  and  a  chamber  of  com¬ 
merce.  It  has  tremendous  power.  It  levies  taxes,  main¬ 
tains  a  fire  brigade,  determines  standards  of  weights  and 
measures,  rates  of  commission  and  settling  days,  and  penal¬ 
izes  all  violation  of  the  ordinances.  Among  the  taxes  upon 
which  it  depends  in  part  for  its  revenue  are  fees  for  the 
entrance  and  clearance  of  all  steamers  and  sailing  vessels 
owned  or  chartered  by  members  of  the  guild.  Other  taxes 
are  levied  on  cargo,  either  a  specific  or  an  ad  valorem  duty. 
There  are  license  fees  for  commission  merchants  and  fines 
for  various  offenses.  In  addition  to  these  sources  of  revenue 
there  is  considerable  income  from  rents  of  property  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  guild.  All  bankrupts  are  boycotted.  No  Swatow 
agent  is  permitted  to  act  for  an  outside  firm  which  refuses 
to  pay  its  indebtedness  to  a  local  firm,  and  no  outside  firm 
may  have  more  than  one  agent  in  Swatow.  Its  patron  deity 
is  the  “Queen  of  Heaven,”  i.e.,  the  Moon.  Members  who 
fail  to  participate  in  the  celebration  of  her  birthday,  which 
comes  at  the  time  of  the  Harvest  Moon,  are  fined  10,000 
fire-crackers. 

Sometimes  the  decrees  of  the  guild  are  unwritten.  Word 
is  passed  around  and  united  action  follows,  as  in  the  case 
of  an  attempt  by  the  provincial  government  to  collect  a 
new  tax  m  1890.  The  tax  collector  not  only  failed  to  col¬ 
lect,  he  could  not  even  find  a  house  to  serve  as  an  office. 
He  soon  abandoned  the  task  and  left  the  port.9 

The  Swatow  Guild  is  unique  in  that  it  attempts  to  con¬ 
trol  the  trade  of  Swatow  with  other  ports  of  China  at 
which  Swatow  men  are  doing  business.  This  is  done 
through  branch  guilds  opened  in  those  ports.10 

9  Decennial  Reports  of  Maritime  Customs,  p.  537. 

10  Morse,  op.  cit.,  54. 


The  Guilds 


201 


The  Great  Guild  at  Newchwang  is  similar  to  that  at 
Swatow,  but  exercises  less  extensive  control.  It  is  also 
divided  into  two  sections,  one  for  the  eastern,  the  other  for 
the  western  part  of  the  port.  Each  section  annually  elects 
a  president  and  vice  president,  and  these  four  make  the 
managing  committee.  As  a  municipal  government  the 
guild  looks  after  the  upkeep  of  streets  and  roads,  builds 
and  maintains  toll  bridges,  cares  for  drains  and  reservoirs, 
controls  the  commons,  supports  charitable  institutions  and 
administers  poor  relief. 

As  a  commercial  association  it  establishes  rules  for  con¬ 
ducting  the  grain  market,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  interests 
of  the  port.  It  also  controls  the  money  market,  which  is 
open  only  to  members  of  the  guild  and  visitors  properly 
introduced.  The  latter,  however,  are  not  permitted  to  enter 
into  any  transactions  there.  It  regulates  exchange  and 
commission  rates  and  fixes  the  standard  for  silver  sycee 
and  the  rules  and  charges  for  smelting  and  assaying  silver. 
Its  revenues  are  derived  from  annual  dues,  taxes  on  trading 
operations,  and  the  bridge  tolls  already  mentioned.  Pro¬ 
tection  to  the  business  of  the  members  is  secured  by  re¬ 
quiring  all  bankers  and  brokers  to  collect  2  per  cent  on 
all  monies  passing  through  their  hands  which  belong  to 
travellers  or  non-members. 

Penalities  are  provided  for  non-observance  of  these 
rules.11 


THE  GUILD  AND  THE  GOVERNMENT 

The  tendency  of  the  guilds  to  cultivate  in  their  members 
a  spirit  of  independence  is  well  shown  in  the  numerous  con¬ 
tests  between  them  and  the  Government.  I  have  already 
mentioned  the  incident  at  Swatow  in  which  resistance  was 
made  to  an  unusual  tax.  Many  other  illustrations  may  be 
given.  During  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century 
I  was  living  in  Nanking.  The  Viceroy  had  just  established 
a  mint  for  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars.  They  were  nomi¬ 
nally  of  the  same  weight  and  fineness  as  the  Mexican  dollar ; 

n  Decennial  Reports  of  I.  M.  Customs,  p.  35. 


202 


The  Guilds 


in  reality  there  was  a  slight  difference.  The  Viceroy  issued 
a  proclamation  requiring  the  public  to  accept  them  at  a 
certain  valuation  in  the  brass  cash.  The  bankers  and  ex¬ 
change  shops  protested  that  they  were  not  worth  that  price. 
The  Viceroy  insisted  and  threatened  punishment.  The 
guilds  took  action.  The  following  day  every  bank  and  ex¬ 
change  shop  in  Nanking  closed  its  doors.  This  lasted 
for  three  days,  after  which  the  Viceroy  accepted  the  bank’s 
rate.  The  Ningpo  Guild  at  Shanghai  maintains  a  guild 
hall  and  a  cemetery.  In  1898,  while  I  was  living  in  that 
city,  the  Municipal  Council  of  the  French  Settlement  de¬ 
cided,  for  sanitary  reasons,  to  remove  the  cemetery,  which 
was  already  entirely  surrounded  by  the  city.  This  action 
was  in  violation  of  an  agreement  made  in  1878,  in  which 
the  French  Government  had  promised  not  to  disturb  the 
graves.  The  Ningpo  Guild  at  once  took  action.  Merchants, 
bankers,  artisans,  servants — all  quit  work.  The  police  were 
on  hand  in  force.  The  foreign  volunteers  were  called  out ; 
blue- jackets  were  landed  from  foreign  men-of-war  in  the 
harbor.  But  at  the  first  attempt  to  touch  the  cemetery 
a  riot  broke  out.  Twenty  Chinese  were  killed,  but  the  guild 
triumphed.  The  cemetery  is  still  undisturbed. 

I  remember,  too,  very  well  the  wheel-barrow  riot  of  1897. 
The  Municipal  Council  of  the  International  Settlement  had' 
decided  to  increase  the  license  for  wheel-barrows  from  400 
to  600  cash  a  month,  i.e.,  from  $0.20  to  $0.30  in  American 
money.  The  Chinese  wheel-barrow  has  a  wheel  about  three 
feet  in  diameter.  It  is  set  in  a  framework  which  prevents 
contact  with  the  packages  being  carried.  These  barrows 
are  numerous  and  are  used  for  carrying  merchandise 
through  the  settlements,  particularly  between  the  ware¬ 
houses  and  the  vessels.  They  are  used  also  for  passenger 
carriage  among  factory  hands  and  other  laborers.  The  tire 
of  the  wheel  is  very  narrow,  and  the  vehicle  is  responsible 
for  much  of  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  streets. 

The  Municipal  Council,  composed  of  British  and  Amer¬ 
ican  merchants,  had  voted  the  increase  in  the  license  fee 
without  consulting  the  wheel-barrow  guild.  A  riot  resulted. 
The  police,  volunteers,  blue- jackets  from  the  foreign  men- 


The  Guilds 


203 


of -war,  were  all  unable  to  bring  the  wheel-barrow  men  to 
submission.  After  several  days  wrangling  the  Council  re¬ 
scinded  the  action.  Three  months  later,  after  consultation 
with  the  heads  of  the  guild,  the  barrow-men  agreed  to  pay 
the  increased  tax. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  exhibitions  of  the  power  of 
the  guilds  was  given  during  the  revolution  of  1911  which 
brought  about  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty.  The 
immediate  cause  of  the  revolution  was  a  dispute  between 
the  people  of  the  province  of  Szechuen  and  the  central 
government  as  to  the  building  of  a  railway  in  that  province. 
A  company  had  been  organized  by  the  people  themselves 
and  work  had  been  begun,  but  the  president  of  the  company 
appointed  by  the  Peking  authorities  had  misappropriated 
a  large  part  of  the  funds.  The  work  stopped.  The  Min¬ 
istry  of  Communications  at  Peking  decided  to  take  over  the 
enterprise,  and  for  this  purpose  arranged  for  a  large  for¬ 
eign  loan.  The  people  demanded  the  return  of  the  money 
subscribed  and  paid  in.  The  Government  offered  shares 
in  the  railway  to  the  amount  of  the  funds  expended  and 
in  hand,  but  excluding  the  amount  misappropriated.  The 
people  held  public  meetings  and  vented  their  anger.  They 
declared  that  the  Peking  Government  was  responsible  for 
the  loss,  and  demanded  shares  to  the  full  amount  of  the 
original  capital.  The  Prince  Regent  stubbornly  resisted. 
The  Szechuen  Guild  at  Peking  met  in  a  number  of  stormy 
sessions.  They  waited  repeatedly  upon  the  Prince  and 
tried  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  his  decision.  They  were  in 
constant  telegraphic  communication  with  the  provincial 
capital,  and  were  fully  informed  of  the  situation  there. 
In  the  end  the  people  triumphed  and  the  Government  was 
overthrown. 

The  guilds  of  China  are  not  organized  under  charters 
from  the  Government,  but  the  Government  has  always  rec¬ 
ognized  their  power  and  has  usually  been  careful  to  avoid 
open  conflict.  Conflict,  as  we  have  seen,  has  usually  re¬ 
sulted  in  defeat  for  the  Government. 

The  guilds,  as  already  stated,  have  their  own  courts,  and 
the  members,  as  a  rule,  avoid  the  official  courts.  Sometimes, 


204 


The  Guilds 


however,  it  is  impossible  to  do  this.  Outside  parties  bring 
suits  against  guild  members  before  the  government  officials, 
and  these  members  must  appear,  just  as  other  citizens  do. 
In  the  past,  however,  the  government  courts  have  usually 
decided  such  cases  in  harmony  with  the  regulations  of  the 
guild  concerned. 

While  living  in  Shanghai  it  was  my  duty  for  two  years 
to  serve  as  American  Assessor  in  the  Mixed  Court  there, 
and  in  the  various  civil  suits  that  were  brought  before 
the  court  it  was  the  rule  to  consult  the  regulations  of  the 
guild  concerned.  It  has  been  asserted  that  China  has  no 
commercial  code  of  law.  In  so  far  as  legislation  by  the 
government  is  concerned,  this  was  quite  true  under  the 
Manchu  Dynasty.  The  Ta  Ch’ing  Hui  Tien  may  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  constitutional  compilation  rather  than  any¬ 
thing  else,  and  the  Ta  Ch’ing  Lii  Li  was  the  penal  code. 
But  the  lack  of  imperial  legislation  in  regard  to  commercial 
matters  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  guilds  supplied  the 
needed  laws.  Civil  suits  were  decided  by  the  officials  in 
accordance  with  the  practice  of  the  locality  concerned,  and 
this  was  nothing  more  than  the  practice  sanctioned  by  the 
guilds. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  guilds  have  not  only  been  a 
training  school  in  independence  and  self-government,  but 
have  also  been  one  of  the  important  sources  of  Chinese 
law.  The  clan  council,  the  practice  as  to  land  tenure,  the 
village  elders  and  the  guild  have  together  formed  a  strong 
quadrilateral  in  defense  of  popular  liberty.  The  demo¬ 
cratic  tendencies  of  these  institutions  have  done  much  to 
prepare  the  people  for  the  introduction  of  a  republican 
form  of  government. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  CALENDAR  AND  ITS  FESTIVALS 

The  purple  palace  announces  the  new  moon; 

The  yellow  way  (the  ecliptic)  opens  a  path  for  the  sun. 

Chinese  Proverb. 

Under  the  heavens  there  are  no  unending  feasts. — Chinese  Proverb. 

Every  nation  has  its  festivals,  its  seasons  of  recreation 
and  holiday-making.  China  does  not  lack  them.  On  the 
contrary,  since  it  is  a  very  old  country,  it  is  well  supplied 
with  them.  In  the  Western  world  we  have  the  weekly 
sabbath,  not  identical  with  the  Jewish,  but  derived  from 
it  and  from  the  earlier  Chaldean.  This  gives  us  a  weekly 
holiday,  that  is  to  say,  fifty-two  rest  days  in  the  year.  In 
addition  to  these  we  have  various  national  and  religious 
holidays. 

The  Chinese  do  not  have  a  weekly  day  of  rest,  but  the 
seven-day  period  has  been  known  to  them  from  very  ancient 
times.  One  of  their  oldest  books,  the  Yi  King ,  or  “Book 
of  Changes, ”  speaks  of  it,  saying:  “The  seventh  day 
returns  again.’ ’  It  is  a  period  which  was  anciently  ob¬ 
served,  too,  in  the  funeral  rites.  Special  sacrifices  were 
made  to  the  dead  every  seventh  day  after  death  for  seven 
weeks,  that  is  to  say,  for  a  sabbath  of  weeks. 

But  while  the  Chinese  do  not  now  observe  a  weekly  sab¬ 
bath,  they  have  quite  a  number  of  holidays.  If  they  be¬ 
long  to  the  wealthy  or  well-to-do  classes,  they  will  close 
their  shops  for  a  whole  month  at  the  Chinese  New  Year. 
If  they  cannot  afford  to  do  that,  they  will  rest  not  less 
than  three  days,  and  many  will  prolong  the  vacation  to 
ten  or  fifteen  days.  Other  holidays  that  are  universally 
observed  are  the  Fifth  Moon  and  Eighth  Moon  feasts, 
when  three  days  are  allowed  for  the  celebration  of  each 
festival. 


205 


206 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


The  celebration  of  the  New  Year  has  been  somewhat 
affected  by  the  adoption  in  1912  of  the  Western  Calendar. 
Before  that  action  had  been  taken,  the  Chinese  calendar 
was  a  lunar  one,  and  the  celebration  of  the  beginning  of 
a  new  year  is  still  reserved  by  most  Chinese  for  the  begin- 
ing  of  the  year  according  to  the  old  calendar. 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  ASTRONOMY 

Under  the  old  regime  the  calendar  was  fixed  each  year 
by  the  College  of  Astronomy,  perhaps  more  properly  called 
the  College  of  Astrology.  The  first  quotation  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter  refers  to  this,  for  the  College  of  Astronomy 
was  under  the  control  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  the  4 'Purple 
Palace,”  and  new  moons  were  announced  by  the  flying 
of  flags.  The  College  of  Astronomy  was  a  department  of 
the  government  which  had  existed  from  very  ancient  times. 
The  offices  of  the  college  were  located  near  the  south-eastern 
corner  of  the  Tartar  City  of  Peking.  There  the  observatory 
still  stands,  with  the  quadrant,  the  stellar  sphere,  and  other 
instruments  presented  by  Louis  XIV  of  Prance.  Along¬ 
side  the  tower  still  older  instruments  formerly  were  housed 
which  date  from  the  Sung  Dynasty  (A.D.  960-1127).  All 
these  instruments  were  carried  off  by  the  French  and  Ger¬ 
mans  after  the  relief  of  the  Legations  at  the  time  of  the 
“ Boxer”  troubles.  The  French  government,  however, 
would  not  permit  the  instruments  to  be  unloaded  in  France, 
but  returned  them  immediately  to  Peking.  ’  The  older  in¬ 
struments,  taken  to  Potsdam  by  the  Germans,  were  placed 
on  exhibition  there  until  the  close  of  the  Great  World  War, 
when  the  treaty  of  peace  provided  for  their  restoration  to 
China. 

One  of  these  ancient  bronze  instruments  was  used  to  de¬ 
termine  the  solstices.  A  beam  of  sun-light  was  allowed  to 
fall  upon  a  graduated  scale,  and  by  this  means  the  advance 
of  the  sun  towards  the  north  and  its  retreat  towards  the 
south  were  noted.  The  College  took  note,  too,  of  the  en¬ 
trance  of  the  sun  into  the  constellation  of  Aquarius.  The 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


207 


first  new  moon  after  that  date  was  the  beginning  of  the 
new  year.  This  caused  the  new  year  to  commence  some¬ 
times  as  early  as  the  21st  of  January.  It  was  never  later 
than  the  19th  of  February. 

A  curious  discrepancy  is  observable  between  the  com¬ 
parative  calendars  (Chinese  and  Western)  used  by  the 
Chinese  in  the  United  States  and  those  prepared  for  use 
in  China.  The  new  year’s  day  of  the  lunar  calendar  arrives 
in  the  United  States  one  day  ahead  of  schedule.  This  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  first  Chinese  coolies  who  arrived 
in  America  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  when  one  travels 
eastward  around  the  earth  he  gains  a  day.  They  did  not 
repeat  the  day  in  which  they  crossed  the  180th  meridian, 
as  the  Europeans  and  Americans  on  shipboard  did.  Thus 
when  they  arrived  in  San  Francisco  they  were  one  day  in 
advance  of  the  local  calendar,  and  they  have  continued 
ever  since  to  reckon  time  accordingly. 


THE  ALMANAC 

Inasmuch  as  twelve  lunar  months  do  not  correspond  with 
the  period  of  the  earth’s  revolution  around  the  sun,  it  be¬ 
came  necessary  to  adjust  the  lunar  to  the  solar  year  by 
adding  at  times  an  extra  month.  This  thirteenth  month 
was  added  sometimes  near  the  beginning  of  the  year,  some¬ 
times  at  other  seasons.  The  addition  was  made  where  the 
least  disturbance  would  be  given  to  the  operations  of  the 
farmer,  who  had  learned  to  plow  and  sow  at  times  indicated 
by  the  almanac.  This  official  almanac  was,  therefore,  a 
document  of  very  great  importance,  and  was  very  care¬ 
fully  prepared.  Not  only  was  the  time  of  the  insertion 
of  an  intercalary  month  to  be  determined,  but  the  dates 
had  to  be  fixed  for  all  the  important  sacrifices  offered  by 
the  State.  Anniversaries  of  the  death  of  important  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  imperial  house  were  recorded,  for  such  days 
were  tabu  for  public  business.  Other  unlucky  days,  too, 
were  marked,  as  were  also  the  lucky  ones.  It  was  a  matter 
of  importance  for  everyone  to  know  what  days  would 


208 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


be  fortunate  or  unfortunate  for  the  great  affairs  of  life, 
especially  if  these  affairs  were  “red”  or  “white,”  i.e.,  had 
to  do  with  marriages  or  funerals.  For  the  common  people 
many  cheap  almanacs  were  prepared  by  astrologers  and 
soothsayers  in  which  predictions  of  the  weather  were  made. 
For  the  man  who  could  not  read  the  Chinese  script  the 
character  of  the  new  year  as  already  said  1  was  indicated 
by  the  colors  of  a  variegated  cow  printed  on  the  front  page. 
The  “Purple  Cow”  was  a  real  institution  in  “Old  China.” 
If  a  splotch  of  purple  was  found  on  the  cow’s  shoulder 
that  would  indicate  one  sort  of  year,  while  red  or  yellow 
there  or  elsewhere  would  mean  something  else.  Thus  the 
wetness  or  dryness  of  the  year,  its  heat  and  cold,  snow 
and  frost  were  foretold.  But,  perhaps,  the  Chinese  peasant 
put  no  more  trust  in  the  almanac  than  our  fathers  did 
when  they  planted  potatoes  during  “the  dark  of  the  moon” 
or  consulted  the  signs  of  the  zodiac  in  the  treatment  of 
disease.  Zadkiel’s  Almanac  is  still  studied  by  multitudes 
in  Europe,  and  other  multitudes  in  our  own  land  half  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  influence  of  the  stars  upon  one ’s  character  and 
fortune. 


ECLIPSES 

The  College  of  Astronomy  also  calculated  correctly  the 
coming  of  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  set  down  in 
the  almanac  exactly  the  hour  and  minute  when  either  of 
these  heavenly  bodies  would  enter  and  leave  the  shadow. 
In  accordance  with  the  prediction  made,  the  Board  of  Rites, 
which  no  longer  exists,  used  to  arrange  for  a  special  service 
at  its  yamen,  for  rescuing  the  sun  from  the  dragon  or  the 
moon  from  the  dog  that  was  seeking  to  devour  it.  Of 
course,  the  Minister  of  Rites  and  the  members  of  the  Board 
of  Rites  did  not  really  believe  that  the  dragon  and  dog 
were  attacking  the  sun  or  moon,  and  probably  nine-tenths 
of  the  people  did  not  share  in  the  ancient  superstition ;  but 
they  observed  the  custom  of  beating  drums  and  gongs  and 
making  a  great  noise  to  frighten  the  dragon,  just  as  we 

i  See  Chap.  V. 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


209 


to-day,  at  Christmas  or  Eastertide,  observe  many  customs 
of  our  forefathers  which  have  lost  their  original  signifi¬ 
cance. 

In  1902  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  attend  a  service  at 
the  yamen  of  the  Board  of  Kites  during  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun.  In  the  great  court-yard  of  the  yamen  a  number  of 
young  men  and  boys,  engaged  for  the  purpose,  were  mak¬ 
ing  an  unearthly  din  with  gongs  and  drums.  On  a  terrace 
in  front  of  the  main  hall  an  altar  had  been  erected,  on 
which  incense  was  burning.  Various  officers  of  the  Board 
were  in  attendance  clothed  in  full  regalia — heavily  em¬ 
broidered  robes,  coral  buttons  and  peacocks’  plumes  on 
their  hats,  strings  of  court  beads  around  their  necks  and 
jade  pendants  hanging  from  their  girdles.  At  stated  inter¬ 
vals  one  of  them  would  attend  at  the  altar  and  reverently 
kotow,  facing  the  darkening  disc  of  the  sun. 

A  high  official,  when  asked  why  these  ancient  ceremonies 
were  continued,  replied  that  the  people  expected  them  and 
would  be  offended  if  they  were  neglected.  Perhaps  he  gave 
the  people  too  little  credit  for  intelligence,  for  the  neglect 
of  these  and  other  ceremonies  of  a  far  more  important 
character,  since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic,  has 
disturbed  very  little  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  Chinese 
peasant. 

CELEBRATION  OF  NEW  YEAR’S  DAY 

First  in  time  and  importance  among  the  festivals  is  the 
celebration  of  the  arrival  of  the  new  year.  That  celebration 
begins  one  week  before  the  end  of  the  old  year.  On  the 
23d  of  the  Twelfth  Moon,  which  in  the  lunar  calendar  has 
but  thirty  days,  each  family  gathers  in  the  kitchen  to  wor¬ 
ship  the  Kitchen  God,  whose  image  is  pasted  on  the  kitchen 
chimney.  On  that  night  he  is  said  to  return  to  heaven,  to 
report  to  the  Ruler  of  the  world  the  conduct  of  each  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  household  during  the  year  that  is  drawing  to  a 
close. 

The  mouth  of  the  image  is  smeared  with  molasses  to  in¬ 
dicate  the  desire  of  the  family  that  he  shall  report  nothing 


210 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


but  good  of  them.  The  paper  on  which  the  gandily-colored 
picture  of  the  Kitchen  God  is  printed  is  then  taken  down 
from  the  chimney  and  carried  out  into  the  principal  court¬ 
yard  of  the  home.  There  it  is  sometimes  placed  in  a 
miniature  sedan  chair  made  of  reeds  and  paper,  which  is 
set  on  fire.  Or,  if  the  palanquin  be  omitted,  the  paper 
image  in  any  case  is  burned,  and  in  his  chariot  of  fire  the 
guardian  of  the  household  ascends  on  high.  One  week  later 
on  the  30th  of  the  Moon,  the  last  day  of  the  dying  year, 
the  family  assembles  once  more  in  the  kitchen  to  welcome 
the  return  of  the  god.  The  bursting  of  strings  of  fire¬ 
crackers  proclaims  the  joy  of  the  household.  A  new  pic¬ 
ture  is  pasted  upon  the  chimney  above  the  kitchen  range, 
the  God  of  the  Furnace — or  Kitchen — is  installed  again 
in  the  care  of  the  home,  and  all  is  in  readiness  for  the 
beginning  of  a  happy  new  year. 

In  the  absence  of  any  accurate  knowledge  of  hygiene  and 
in  the  want  of  sanitary  regulations,  perhaps  the  supersti¬ 
tions  of  the  people  with  respect  to  the  kitchen  range  have 
served  a  good  purpose.  The  Book  of  Rewards  and  Punish¬ 
ments,  one  of  the  Taoist  scriptures,  is  very  specific  in  its 
prohibitions  regarding  conduct  in  sight  of  the  range.  No 
unseemly  act  is  to  be  allowed  in  the  presence  of  the  Spirit 
of  the  Furnace.  One  is  forbidden  to  sharpen  a  knife  upon 
the  range.  No  one  must  spit  toward  the  altar  of  the 
Kitchen  God.  One  must  not  wash  his  face  or  hands  in 
the  kitchen,  and  for  a  woman  to  comb  her  hair  in  sight 
of  the  range  is  unpardonable. 

The  origin  of  this  reverence  for  the  furnace  and  its  deity, 
on  whose  altar  the  food  of  the  family  is  prepared,  is  lost 
in  the  obscurity  of  antiquity.  The  worship  was  common 
in  the  days  of  Confucius,  when  a  well-known  proverb  said : 
“It  is  better  to  worship  the  god  of  the  kitchen  than  the 
god  of  the  hall.”  The  proverb  had  a  cynical  use.  It  im¬ 
plied  that  one  by  courting  the  good-will  of  underlings 
could  obtain  more  than  by  appeals  to  the  superior  authori¬ 
ties.  When  an  officer,  who  thought  himself  more  powerful 
than  his  lord  asked  Confucius  about  the  proverb,  the  Sage 
at  once  denounced  it  saying:  “It  is  not  true,  for  he  who 


-  The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals  211 

offends  against  Heaven  has  no  one  to  whom  he  can  pray”; 
by  which  he  meant  that  no  mediators  or  intercessors  are 
powerful  enough  to  change  the  purposes  of  Him  who  is 
perfect  in  wisdom  and  justice,  “with  whom  there  is  not 
even  the  shadow  of  a  turning.”  But  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  even  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.  the  Chinese  used 
the  Kitchen  God  to  intercede  for  them  with  the  Supreme 
Being. 

The  last  night  of  the  old  year  according  to  the  lunar 
calendar  is  called  “San-shih  Wan  Sinang,”  i.e.,  the  “Night 
of  the  Thirtieth.”  It  is  a  busy  time  in  every  Chinese 
city.  This  was  particularly  true  under  the  old  regime, 
because  all  debts  must  be  paid  off  before  the  new  year 
dawns  or  one  loses  face.  Men  have  been  known,  in  fact,  to 
steal  in  order  to  pay  their  debts,  rather  than  begin  the  new 
year  with  a  loss  of  reputation. 

Through  the  dark,  dismal  streets  of  an  old-fashioned 
Chinese  city,  on  the  last  night  of  the  year,  you  may  see 
the  paper  lanterns  hurrying  to  and  fro,  carried  by  their 
owners  intent  on  settling  their  accounts.  The  shop-keepers 
are  busy  with  their  books.  Belated  purchases  are  being 
made  for  the  coming  festival.  The  noise  of  bursting  fire¬ 
crackers  is  heard  everywhere,  and  it  will  be  long  after 
midnight  before  the  town  settles  down  to  the  accustomed 
quiet  of  the  dark. 

In  strong  contrast  to  this  noise  and  bustle  is  the  sabbath¬ 
like  stillness  of  the  new  year’s  morning.  Every  house  and 
shop  is  closed.  Scarcely  anyone  is  seen  upon  the  street. 
This  first  day  is  devoted  to  the  family.  Everyone  wears 
his  best  clothes  and  goes  to  the  principal  hall  of  the  house 
to  worship  the  parents  and  grandparents.  Incense  is 
burned  to  the  deceased  ancestors,  and  all  give  themselves 
up  to  feasting  and  drinking  and  the  joy  of  a  family  reunion. 
Plenty  of  food  and  fuel  must  be  on  hand  for  not  less  than 
three  days’  consumption,  for  it  is  impossible  to  buy  any¬ 
thing  outside.  The  well-to-do  lay  in  enough  provisions 
for  a  month. 

On  the  third  day  a  few  pedlars  will  be  seen  selling  toys 

and  confectionery,  and  jugglers  will  appear  on  street 

% 


212 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


corners  and  in  temple  courts  to  amuse  the  crowd  and  gather 
in  a  few  cash.  The  humblest  citizen  will  go  out  to  call 
upon  his  friends,  leaving  upon  each  one  a  great  red  card 
bearing  his  name  and  new  year  congratulations.  This  red 
card  is  giving  place  to  the  small  white  one  among  those 
who  have  studied  abroad  or  who  are  becoming  fond  of 
Western  ways.  The  white  card  is  conventional,  to  be  sure, 
but  it  is  commonplace  and  uninteresting  in  comparison  with 
the  red,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  country  and  carries  with 
it  the  color  of  joy. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  Western  custom  of  making  a 
round  of  calls  upon  New  Year’s  day  is  really  derived  from 
that  of  China,  one  that  was  introduced  by  merchants  and 
mariners  who  traded  in  the  Far  East. 


THE  LANTERN  FESTIVAL 

After  the  first  few  days  of  the  new  year  business  houses 
begin  to  open,  but  public  offices  in  the  old  days  remained 
closed  until  the  15th  of  the  First  Moon,  and  normal  life 
does  not  return  until  after  that  date.  That  is  the  time 
of  the  Lantern  Festival.  Like  the  Eoman  Lupercalia,  it 
is  a  festival  of  light,  celebrating  the  lengthening  of  the 
day  and  the  returning  light  of  spring.  The  celebration 
is  not  so  interesting  in  the  north  as  it  is  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  country.  Peking  merely  hangs  out  lanterns 
before  the  doors  of  the  homes;  but  in  the  vicinity  of 
Shanghai  many  a  village  will  erect  a  tall  pole,  or  flag¬ 
staff,  to  the  top  of  which  are  attached  long  strings  of 
lanterns  that  are  drawn  out  at  equal  distances,  making  a 
cone-shaped  tent  of  light  around  the  pole.  The  peasants 
arrange  processions,  too,  of  men  and  boys  carrying  lanterns 
of  every  conceivable  shape,  some  representing  birds  or  other 
animals,  some  mythical  creatures  and  others  merely  geo¬ 
metrical  figures.  The  bearers  are  often  dressed  in  costume. 
Boys  on  stilts  that  are  hidden  under  long  robes  stalk  along 
like  giants.  Many  wear  grotesque  masques.  The  most 
striking  lantern  is  the  dragon,  often  50  or  60  feet  in  length, 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


213 


borne  by  a  dozen  or  more  men  whose  bodies,  except  their 
legs,  are  concealed  in  the  dragon.  As  this  wriggling  crea¬ 
ture  winds  its  way  through  the  town  it  seems  like  a  living 
monster. 

This  feast  of  the  first  full  moon  of  the  new  year  was 
formerly  a  very  important  one  in  the  State  Calendar,  for 
it  was  about  that  time  that  the  Emperor  used  to  visit  the 
covered  altar  in  the  Temple  of  Heaven  to  pray  for  a  good 
harvest.  But  this  service  will  be  described  in  another 
chapter. 

THE  CH’lNG  MING 

Eastertide  is  an  important  time  in  the  Christian  Church 
Calendar.  It  is  with  us  a  time  when  we  remember  in  an 
especial  manner  our  dead,  and  endeavor  to  strengthen  our 
hope  of  immortality.  At  about  the  same  season  the  Chinese 
celebrate  the  Ch’ing  Ming,  the  fifth  of  the  solar  periods, 
when  the  sun  is  in  Aries.  It  falls  about  the  beginning  of 
April.  During  this  period  the  Chinese  visit  the  graves  of 
their  ancestors  and  put  them  in  repair.  When  this  has 
been  done  and  the  family  burial  ground  is  in  perfect  order 
offerings  of  food  and  wine  are  made  to  the  spirits  of  the 
dead.  This  service  of  communion  with  those  who  have 
passed  into  the  unseen  world  combines  in  some  degree  the 
sentiments  expressed  in  our  Easter  observances  and  our 
Decoration  Day  exercises.  Most  Christian  missionaries 
object  to  any  participation  by  their  Chinese  converts  in 
the  worship  of  the  dead,  but  the  reverence  shown  is  very 
like  that  which  we  show  at  the  graves  of  those  whom  we 
love,  and  the  offerings  of  rice  and  spirits  scarcely  mean 
any  more  than  our  offerings  of  flowers.  In  fact,  in  some 
Christian  countries  offerings  of  food  are  placed  upon  the 
graves  on  All  Souls  Eve.  The  Jesuit  missionaries  in  the 
seventeenth  century  tolerated  ancestor  worship  among 
Chinese  Christians,  and  when  the  practice  was  criticised 
by  other  orders  the  Emperor  K’angshi  was  asked  whether 
or  not  the  worship  was  of  the  same  sort  as  that  paid  to  the 
Supreme  Being.  He  replied  that  it  was  not.  The  Catholic 


214 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


missionaries  who  opposed  the  practice  then  appealed  to  the 
Pope,  who  decided  that  the  worship  of  ancestors  was  in¬ 
compatible  with  the  worship  of  God.  The  Jesuits  were 
recalled  from  Peking  and  were  replaced  by  the  Lazarists. 
The  influence  once  exercised  by  Ricci,  Schaal  and  Verbiest 
over  the  Court  at  Peking  was  never  recovered,  and  the 
Emperor,  who  had  been  favorably  impressed  by  them, 
became  thereafter  suspicious  of  the  aims  of  the  missionaries 
and  hostile  rather  than  favorable. 

There  are  many  broad-minded  men  among  the  mission¬ 
aries  to-day  who  would  be  glad  to  see  the  Ch’ing  Ming 
celebration  not  only  tolerated  by  the  Church  but  trans¬ 
formed  into  a  Christian  festival,  just  as  the  Easter  of  our 
ancestors,  once  a  heathen  festival,  was  consecrated  to  the 
celebration  of  the  Resurrection. 


THE  DRAGON  BOAT  FESTIVAL 

The  next  feast  of  importance  in  the  Chinese  calendar  is 
that  of  the  Fifth  Moon,  the  Dragon  Boat  Festival.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  tradition  this  festival  celebrates  the  patriotism 
of  Ch’u  Yuan,  a  Minister  of  the  State  of  Ch’u  during  the 
Chou  Dynasty,  who  repeatedly  urged  upon  his  king  a  course 
of  reform  which  the  monarch  refused  to  take.  In  protest 
the  minister  committed  suicide  by  drowning  himself  in  the 
Tungting  Lake,  included  within  the  boundaries  of  modern 
Hunan  Province.  In  Foochow  five  days  are  given  to  the 
feast ;  in  central  and  northern  China  three  days  are  devoted 
— the  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  of  the  Moon ;  but  it  is  the  fifth 
of  the  Fifth  Moon  that  is  the  great  day  of  the  feast.  This 
is  one  of  the  settling  days  in  China.  Accounts  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  settled  at  New  Year,  on  the  fifth  of  the  Fifth 
Moon,  and  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  Eighth  Moon. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Fifth  Moon  every  house,  as  a 
rule,  has  a  bundle  of  artemisia  and  sweet  flag  suspended 
at  the  door-way.  These  aromatic  plants  are  said  to  keep 
away  evil  spirits.  The  particular  connection  with  Ch’u 
.Yuan  does  not  appear  to  be  known.  Perhaps  the  custom 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


215 


is  only  incidentally  associated  with  the  festival,  for  it  is 
a  custom  of  the  Chinese  to  burn  dried  aromatic  plants 
during  the  summer  to  keep  off  mosquitoes.  It  is  worth 
noting,  however,  that  as  the  festival  originated  in  the 
search  with  boats  for  the  body  of  the  drowned  statesman, 
the  association  with  death  would  naturally  suggest  the  use 
of  aromatic  plants  to  keep  off  the  evil  spirits  of  death.  At 
inquests  in  central  China,  as  already  related,  the  magistrate 
after  completing  the  examination  steps  over  burning  arte- 
misia,  or  some  other  aromatic  plant,  to  purify  himself 
and  keep  the  evil  spirit  from  following  him  to  his  home. 

The  principal  exercise  in  celebration  of  this  feast  is  the 
racing  of  the  dragon  boats.  These  graceful  boats  are  long 
and  narrow  and  end  at  the  bows  in  a  dragon’s  head. 
Imitating  the  boatmen  that  searched  for  the  body  of  Ch’ii 
Yuan,  the  young  men  engage  in  swift  racing  on  the  lakes, 
rivers  and  canals,  and  the  winning  crews  receive  prizes 
for  their  skill. 

THE  HERD  BOY  AND  WEAVER  MAID 

The  Seventh  Moon  is  distinguished  by  two  popular  fes¬ 
tivals — one  of  ancient,  unknown  origin,  the  other  a  Bud¬ 
dhistic  feast.  The  ancient  folk  tale  relates  to  two  stars,  one 
on  either  side  the  Milky  Way,  which  the  Chinese  call  the 
Heavenly  River.  The  stars  are  in  Aquila  and  Vega  and 
are  said  to  be,  the  first  a  herd  boy,  the  second  a  weaver 
girl.  The  story  is  a  pretty  one.  It  forms  the  theme  of 
many  a  painting  and  is  often  illustrated  in  embroideries. 

The  weaver  maid  was  the  daughter  of  the  Sun  God.  He 
thought  she  was  too  closely  confined  by  her  work  and 
decided  to  give  her  in  marriage  to  the  herd  boy.  But  after 
her  marriage  her  character  entirely  changed.  She  became 
idle  and  foolish  and  neglected  her  duties.  The  Sun  God 
was  wroth  and  determined  to  separate  her  from  her  hus¬ 
band.  He  directed  a  flock  of  magpies  to  make  a  bridge 
with  their  wings  across  the  Heavenly  River,  and  sent  the 
herd  boy  to  the  other  side  of  the  stream.  They  were  for¬ 
bidden  to  meet  except  once  a  year.  On  the  Seventh  of  the 


216 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


Seventh  Moon  the  magpies  flock  together  again  and  make 
a  bridge,  over  which  the  weaver  maid  lightly  runs  to  meet 
her  husband.  One  day  only  can  she  spend  with  him,  after 
which  she  must  return  to  her  work.  But  if  there  should 
be  rain  on  the  Seventh  day  of  the  Seventh  Moon  she  will 
be  unable  to  see  her  husband  until  another  year  has  passed, 
for  the  River  of  Heaven  is  brimming  full,  and  even  one 
drop  more  of  water  will  cause  it  to  overflow  and  sweep 
away  the  bridge.  Therefore,  the  maidens  and  wives  of 
China  pray  for  clear  skies  on  the  night  of  the  Seventh 
of  the  Seventh  Moon.  They  make  offerings  of  watermelons 
and  other  fruits,  of  vegetables  also  and  cakes.  They  burn 
incense  and  pray  for  skill  in  needle-work. 

The  Heavenly  River,  or  Milky  Way,  according  to  Chinese 
mythology,  is  the  source  of  the  Yellow  River.  A  mighty 
rebel  against  one  of  the  ancient  mythical  rulers  of  China 
butted  his  head  against  the  north-western  pillar  of  the  sky 
and  broke  it  down.  This  allowed  the  River  of  Heaven  to 
enter  the  earth.  In  the  second  century  B.C.  a  famous 
Chinese  explorer,  Chang  Ch’ien,  reached  the  head  waters 
of  the  Yellow  River.  The  story  tellers  enlarged  upon  his 
exploit  by  combining  his  real  achievement  with  the  ancient 
folk  tale.  They  tell  us  that  Chang  Ch’ien  sailed  many  days 
upon  the  bosom  of  the  mighty  stream  until  he  arrived  at 
a  place  where  he  found  a  boy  on  one  side  of  the  stream 
herding  cattle,  and  on  the  other  side  a  young  woman  weav¬ 
ing  cloth.  He  enquired  the  name  of  the  place,  whereupon 
the  young  woman  handed  him  her  shuttle  and  told  him  to 
carry  it  to  Chun  Pi  ’ng  at  the  Chinese  capital.  Chun  Pi  ’ng 
was  a  celebrated  astronomer.  He  at  once  recognized  the 
shuttle  as  belonging  to  the  Weaver  Maid,  and  asked  Chang 
the  date  of  his  visit  at  the  place  where  she  lived.  On 
learning  the  date  he  looked  up  his  records  and  discovered 
that,  sure  enough,  at  that  very  time  he  saw  a  strange  star 
come  between  the  Herd  Boy  and  Weaver  Maid.  Thus 
there  could  no  longer  be  any  doubt  about  the  Yellow 
River’s  origin  being  in  the  Milky  Way. 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


217 


ALL  SOULS  FESTIVAL 

There  is,  however,  a  more  important  festival  in  the  Sev¬ 
enth  Moon.  This  is  the  Buddhist  feast  of  All  Souls,  or 
more  properly  the  Feast  for  Hungry  Ghosts.  It  begins 
on  the  15th  day  of  the  Seventh  Moon  and  lasts  until  the 
30th.  Throughout  this  period  offerings  are  made  to  the 
dead,  but  particularly  to  the  unhappy  dead,  those  known 
as  the  “ orphaned  spirits,”  that  is  to  say,  those  who  have 
no  living  descendants  to  keep  up  the  sacrifices  to  them. 
The  offerings  frequently  are  imitations,  made  in  paper,  of 
money,  garments,  houses,  horses,  servants  and  other  useful 
articles.  The  images  are  burned  and  the  dead  are  supposed 
to  obtain  the  ethereal  counterparts  of  the  objects  offered. 
On  the  warm  summer  nights  of  this  season  one  may  watch 
the  burning  offerings  floating  down  the  river — offerings 
made  to  the  spirits  of  those  who  have  been  drowned. 

There  is  a  great  celebration  of  the  festival  at  the  mon¬ 
astery  of  Ch’ing  Liang  Shan ,  or  4 ‘Clear  Cool  Mountain,” 
a  hill  within  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Nanking,  but  among 
the  bamboo  groves  and  gardens  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  far  away  from  the  busy  streets.  This  monastery  is 
dedicated  to  Ti  Tsang,  the  ruler  of  Hades.  More  than  one 
story  probably  is  combined  in  the  account  given  of  his  life. 

In  his  first  incarnation  he  was  a  maiden  who  was  much 
disturbed  by  her  mother’s  unbelief.  By  filial  piety  she 
was  enabled  to  rescue  her  mother  from  the  pangs  of  hell. 
In  a  later  re-birth  the  maiden  became  a  Prince  of  Siam. 
Historically  such  a  prince  is  said  to  have  come  to  Chiu 
Jlua  Shan ,  a  mountain  in  the  province  of  Anhui,  not  far 
from  Nanking.  He  led  such  a  holy  life  as  a  monk  that 
after  his  death  he  was  identified  with  Ti  Tsang,  and  is  said 
to  have  charge  of  the  world  of  the  dead. 

During  the  last  fifteen  days  of  the  Seventh  Moon  the 
people  come  in  crowds  from  all  quarters  to  worship  at  the 
Clear  Cool  Mountain.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  a  fair 
is  held.  All  sorts  of  notions,  toys  and  curios  are  offered 
for  sale,  while  jugglers  and  mountebanks  amuse  and  enter- 


218 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


tain  the  pilgrims  for  the  few  cash  which  they  can  collect 
from  them.  Some  of  these  pilgrims  have  come  scores  of 
miles,  bowing  in  prayer  and  striking  their  foreheads  in 
the  dnst  at  every  second  or  third  step  of  the  long  journey, 
in  fulfillment  of  a  vow  made,  perhaps,  to  save  a  sick  parent. 
The  most  devout  carry  their  rosaries  and  count  their  beads 
incessantly.  Some  come  to  seek  cure  for  themselves  or 
for  others.  The  air  of  the  temple  is  heavy  with  the  odor 
of  incense  and  the  smoke  of  thousands  of  candles  offered 
upon  the  altar  before  the  huge  bronze  image  of  Ti  Tsang. 
The  face  of  the  idol,  like  that  of  the  Buddha,  is  placid  and 
benignant. 

The  worshiper  as  he  enters  the  temple  first  makes  an 
offering  of  money,  which  is  thrown  into  a  huge  chest.  He 
then  lights  candles  and  bundles  of  incense  sticks,  which  are 
placed  upon  the  altar.  Not  until  his  offerings  are  made 
does  he  kneel,  kotow  and  pray.  Arising  from  his  knees 
he  takes  from  the  altar  a  vase  of  sortilege  rods,  which  he 
shakes  gently  as  he  faces  the  idol.  When  one  rod  projects 
beyond  the  others  or  falls  to  the  ground  he  seizes  it  and 
hands  it  to  a  monk,  who  examines  the  number  which  it 
bears  and  opens  a  drawer  that  has  the  same  number.  A 
slip  of  paper  taken  from  the  drawer  will  have  printed 
upon  it  the  answer  to  the  prayer.  These  answers  are 
frequently  in  rhyme,  and  tell  the  worshiper  what  the 
prospect  of  recovery  is  and  what  must  be  done  to  obtain 
a  healing.  Some  are  so  superstitious  that  after  obtaining 
the  oracular  response  they  burn  it,  drop  the  ashes  in  a 
cup  of  tea,  and  drink  the  whole  for  good  luck. 

But  the  main  purpose  of  the  festival,  as  already  said,  is 
to  relieve  the  orphaned  spirits.  A  deep-toned  bell  is  tolled 
once  or  twice  a  minute.  It  has  a  very  musical  sound  and 
can  be  heard  at  a  great  distance,  above  the  noise  of  the 
city  streets.  Like  all  Buddhist  bells  it  is  struck  by  a 
wooden  beam,  so  that  the  harsh,  clanging  sound  of  western 
bells  is  lacking.  As  long  as  the  sound  can  be  heard,  it  is 
said  the  souls  in  torment  have  surcease  of  pain. 

On  the  30th  day  of  the  month,  the  last  great  day  of  the 
feast,  which  is  All  Souls  Day,  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


219 


believed  to  enjoy  a  holiday.  They  are  released  from  their 
prisons  for  that  one  day  and  freed  from  pain. 


THE  MOON’S  BIRTHDAY 

The  15th  day  of  the  Eighth  Moon  is  another  feast  day. 
This  is  the  Eighth  Moon  Festival,  which,  as  already  said, 
is  one  of  the  settling  days  of  the  year.  The  Chinese,  so 
to  speak,  have  but  three  quarters  in  the  year,  that  is  to 
say,  they  settle  accounts  three  times  in  the  year  instead 
of  quarterly.  The  15th  day  of  the  Eighth  Moon  is  the 
day  of  the  full  moon,  and  it  is  the  time  of  the  Harvest 
Moon,  which  rises  immediately  after  sunset  and  seems  to 
prolong  the  day.  This  is  called  the  Moon ’s  Birthday.  The 
day  before  and  that  following  it  are  usually  included  in 
the  celebration.  The  Moon  is  the  object  of  worship  at  this 
festival.  She  is  the  Queen  of  Heaven  to  whom  the  women 
offer  moon  cakes.  The  moon  cake  usually  has  a  crescent 
on  its  surface.  Some  support  a  small  pagoda,  while  others 
have  an  image  of  the  rabbit  that  is  said  to  inhabit  the 
moon.  According  to  Chinese  legend  it  is  a  rabbit  pounding 
rice,  and  not  a  man’s  face,  that  we  see  in  the  moon.  The 
Chinese,  however,  do  have  another  legend  of  a  lady  in  the 
moon.  She,  too,  is  sometimes  represented  on  this  festive 
occasion.  According  to  the  tale  that  is  told  she  was  the 
beautiful  wife  of  an  ancient  worthy  who  was  given  the 
elixir  of  immortality  by  the  fairy  queen.  The  wife  stole 
the  elixir  and  drank  it,  in  punishment  for  which  she  was 
transformed  into  a  frog  and  translated  to  the  moon,  where 
she  may  still  be  seen. 

The  feast  is  marked  by  out-door  enjoyment  and  general 
holiday  making.  Fairs  are  held  at  which  toys  are  sold, 
particularly  small  pagodas  made  of  clay  and  highly  colored. 
At  Foochow  and  in  the  vicinity  dolls  are  offered  for  sale. 
Parents  who  have  had  a  child  born  during  the  preceding 
twelve  months  buy  a  doll  to  represent  it.  The  child’s 
name  is  written  upon  it,  and  thereafter  it  is  used  in  vari¬ 
ous  idolatrous  ceremonies  to  represent  the  child.  If  the 


220 


The  Calendar  and,  its  Festivals 


child  dies  before  maturity  (sixteen  years  of  age)  the  doll 
is  buried  with  it  in  the  grave. 

In  many  parts  of  China  at  this  season  the  Bushel  Mother 
is  worshiped.  This  is  a  female  said  to  reside  in  the  con¬ 
stellation  of  the  Great  Bear.  This  is  known  to  the  Chinese 
as  the  “ Measure,’ ’  or  “Bushel,”  just  as  we  often  speak 
of  it  as  the  “Great  Dipper.”  As  is  well  known  there  are 
seven  stars  in  the  constellation.  Flags  bearing  the  seven 
stars  properly  arranged  to  represent  the  constellation  are 
flown  from  tea  houses  during  the  festival. 


THE  NINTH  MOON  FEAST 

The  Ninth  Moon  also  has  its  festival,  which  falls  on  the 
9th  day  of  the  month.  This  is  the  festival  of  “Going  up 
on  a  high  place.”  It  originated,  it  is  said,  in  some  great 
calamity,  the  details  of  which  appear  to  be  forgotten.  An 
ancient  seer  had  warning  of  it  in  advance.  He  went  to  the 
hills  to  spend  the  day  and  so  escaped.  In  memory  of  this, 
and  to  avoid  any  calamity  that  may  be  threatening,  the 
people  betake  themselves  to  the  top  of  a  hill  or  go  up  on 
the  city  wall.  In  some  places  the  day  is  given  largely  to 
kite-flying. 


THE  BIRTHDAY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

Since  the  revolution  of  1911  a  new  holiday  has  been 
added  to  the  calendar,  the  10th  of  October,  the  anniversary 
of  the  revolt  at  Wuch’ang,  headed  by  Li  Yuan-hung  and 
his  troops.  This  anniversary  is  kept  according  to  the  West¬ 
ern  calendar,  which  was  formally  adopted  by  the  Republic. 
The  celebration  has  a  patriotic  character — the  flying  of 
flags,  processions  with  bands  of  music,  public  meetings 
with  speech  making,  and  in  some  places  exhibitions  of  relics 
of  the  revolution  and  pictures  of  its  leaders.  At  the  cele¬ 
bration  in  Peking  in  1912  and  1913  the  edict  of  abdication, 
on  yellow  satin,  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  Empress  Lung 
Yii,  who  issued  it,  was  placed  on  exhibition  under  a  richly 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


221 


decorated  canopy  erected  before  the  principal  entrance  to 
the  Imperial  City. 

THE  WINTER  SOLSTICE 

One  of  the  most  important  festivals  of  the  year  falls  in 
the  Eleventh  Moon  according  to  the  old  lunar  calendar. 
This  is  the  feast  of  the  winter  solstice,  held  on  the  longest 
night  in  the  year.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  wide-spread 
among  many  races  and  nations  is  the  observance  of  a  festi¬ 
val  at  this  season.  Our  own  Christmas,  which  falls  at  this 
time,  is  undoubtedly  a  transformation  of  a  much  older 
festival  observed  by  the  Romans,  as  well  as  by  the  Teutonic 
tribes  and  the  Britons.  The  encroachment  of  the  night 
upon  the  day,  in  the  season  of  frost  and  snow  and  all  the 
chilliness  and  gloom  of  dying  nature,  must  have  very  early 
attracted  the  attention  of  men,  so  that  the  cessation  of  that 
encroachment  of  darkness  would  become  an  occasion  for 
rejoicing. 

In  China  the  spirit  world  is  the  land  of  darkness.  The 
ghostly  powers  are  more  active  in  the  dark.  The  spirits 
of  the  dead  are  worshiped  as  dwelling  in  the  north,  on 
the  side  of  darkness.  This  season  of  the  winter  solstice 
became,  therefore,  long,  long  ago,  a  time  consecrated  in  an 
especial  manner  to  the  worship  of  the  dead.  At  this  season 
of  the  year  the  ancestors  are  worshiped,  not  at  the  grave 
but  in  the  ancestral  temple,  or  in  the  principal  hall  of  the 
house  where  the  tablets  are  kept  on  the  family  altar.  This 
is  the  great  family  festival  of  the  year.  The  wandering 
sons  return,  if  possible,  to  the  home  of  their  fathers.  There 
is  a  joyous  re-union.  On  this  long  night  the  members  of 
the  household  gather  in  the  hall,  where  a  rich  feast  of 
smoking  viands  is  spread  before  the  altar.  Chairs  for 
the  deceased  ancestors  are  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
table.  The  living  head  of  the  family,  supported  by  his 
wife  and  children,  stands  reverently  on  the  south  side  fac¬ 
ing  the  north,  with  the  table  between  himself  and  the 
ancestral  tablets.  Falling  upon  his  knees  three  times  he 
kotows,  striking  his  head  thrice  with  each  kneeling,  in 


222 


The  Calendar  and  its  Festivals 


worship  of  the  dear  departed,  and  as  if  inviting  them  to 
share  in  the  feast.  The  family  then  all  stand  reverently 
for  a  few  moments,  while  the  ancestral  spirits  are  supposed 
to  partake  of  the  ethereal  portions  of  the  feast.  Thus  the 
whole  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth  are  re-united. 

Under  the  imperial  regime  this  was  a  time,  too,  for  the 
most  solemn  service  in  the  worship  of  the  Most  High,  but 
this  subject  will  be  treated  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI 


CONFUCIUS  AND  HIS  TEACHING 

Hence  the  sage  forms  a  ternion  with  Heaven  and  Earth,  and 
stands  side  by  side  with  spiritual  beings,  in  order  to  the  right  order¬ 
ing  of  government. — Li  Ki,  translated  by  Legge. 

The  Master  said :  “A  transmitter  and  not  an  originator,  a  believer 
in  and  lover  of  antiquity,  I  venture  to  compare  myself  with  our 
ancient  worthy  P;eng.  ” 

Analects  of  Confucius,  Soothill’s  Translation. 

Confucius  was  born  in  551  B.C.  at  the  town  of  Ch’iifu1 
in  what  is  to-day  the  province  of  Shantung.  At  that  time 
the  district  was  included  in  the  state  of  Lu,  which  was  a 
dukedom.  The  name,  Confucius,  is  a  Latinized  form  of 
the  Chinese  words,  K’ung  Fu-tzu,  i.e.,  “the  teacher, 
K’ung.”  K’ung  was  his  surname.  His  personal  name 
was  Ch’iu.  He  was  also  called  Chung-ni,  for  a  Chinese 
usually  has  several  names — his  4  4  milk-name,  ’  ’  or  baby  name, 
his  school-name,  and  his  name  given  on  coming  of  age.  For 
distinguished  men,  servants  of  the  State,  there  is  also  a 
posthumous  name. 

The  family  of  Confucius  originally  lived  in  the  state  of 
Sung,  which  joined  Lu  on  the  west  and  occupied  a  region 
which  to-day  is  partly  embraced  within  the  province  of 
Shantung  and  partly  in  Honan.  One  of  his  ancestors  in 
Sung,  named  K’ung  Chia,  had  a  beautiful  wife  who  was 
coveted  by  a  powerful  minister  of  state.  The  husband, 
K’ung  Chia,  was  murdered  and  an  attempt  was  made  to 
abduct  the  wife.  She,  however,  resisted  and  committed 
suicide.  Because  of  this  outrage,  the  family  removed  from 
Sung  and  settled  in  Lu. 

The  father  of  Confucius  was  a  noted  military  leader  and 
a  man  of  courage  and  of  great  physical  strength.  It  is 

i  Not  to  be  confounded  with  Chefoo  in  the  same  province. 

223 


224  Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

related  of  him  that  once  when  attacking  a  city  some  of 
his  followers  were  led  by  a  rnse  to  enter  the  open  gate  of 
the  town  and  would  have  been  entrapped  there.  But,  just 
as  the  warden  was  about  to  drop  the  portcullis,  the  father 
of  the  sage  caught  it  with  both  hands  and  upheld  it  until 
all  his  men  had  escaped.  This  Chinese  Samson  was  an 
old  man,  70  years  of  age,  when  Confucius  was  born.  The 
mother  was  a  young  woman,  a  second  wife.  The  first  wife 
had  had  nine  daughters,  but  no  sons.  A  concubine  had 
borne  a  son,  but  he  was  a  cripple.  The  birth  of  the  boy, 
Confucius,  was  therefore,  an  occasion  of  great  rejoicing. 

The  Confucian  books,  as  a  rule,  are  free  from  tales  of 
the  marvelous,  but  some  uncanonical  works  give  account 
of  certain  miraculous  occurrences  that  are  said  to  have 
attended  the  entrance  of  Confucius  into  the  world.  These 
tales  no  doubt  were  invented  by  over-zealous  disciples,  who 
wanted  to  make  their  teacher  the  equal  of  others  concerning 
whom  such  stories  were  told.  Before  the  birth  of  the  Sage, 
we  are  informed,  a  spirit  appeared  to  the  young  wife  and 
announced  to  her  that  she  was  to  become  the  mother  of 
a  great  teacher.  About  the  same  time  a  unicorn  was  led 
into  her  presence  by  five  aged  men.  Around  its  horn  she 
fastened  a  ribbon.  Long  years  afterward,  so  the  story 
runs,  when  Confucius  was  an  old  man,  the  unicorn  was 
captured  by  hunters  with  the  ribbon  still  clinging  to  its 
horn.  When  Confucius  saw  it  he  realized  that  its  appear¬ 
ance  presaged  his  death,  and  he  wept.  According  to  other 
accounts  his  birth  was  signalized  by  the  appearance  of 
angels  in  the  sky  and  the  sounds  of  sweet  music. 

A  work  known  as  “The  Chia  Yli,”  or  “Family  Tradi¬ 
tions,”  gives  us  a  few  interesting  details  of  his  early  life. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  but  three  years  old,  and,  like 
his  greatest  disciple,  Mencius,  he  was  brought  up  by  a 
widowed  mother.  She  passed  away  when  he  was  twenty- 
two  years  of  age.  Of  her  he  was  naturally  very  fond.  It 
is  remarkable  that,  according  to  the  Li  Ki,  he  did  not  know 
where  his  father  was  buried.  He  made  enquiries,  and, 
taking  up  the  remains,  interred  them  in  the  same  grave 
with  his  mother.  A  storm  arose  just  as  the  burial  was 


225 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

completed  and  washed  away  the  mound.  This  deeply 
affected  the  young  man,  who  felt  that  he  must  have  been 
at  fault  in  some  way  in  the  construction  of  the  grave.  As 
a  child  he  showed  a  great  fondness  for  religious  exercises. 
He  loved  to  play  at  conducting  the  temple  services  and 
making  the  offerings  required.  He  was  a  bright  student, 
and  made  such  rapid  progress  that  at  twenty-two  years 
he  already  had  a  reputation  as  a  scholar  and  had  gathered 
a  band  of  earnest  students  around  him.  In  his  old  age, 
when  reviewing  his  career,  he  said : 

At  fifteen  I  was  bent  on  learning; 

At  thirty  I  stood  fast; 

At  forty  I  had  no  doubts; 

At  fifty  I  knew  the  will  of  God; 

At  sixty  my  ear  was  open  to  the  truth; 

At  seventy  I  could  follow  my  desires  without  transgressing  the 
“square”  (i.e.  the  bounds  of  right).2 

In  this  he  recalled  his  early  zeal  in  the  pursuit  of  knowl¬ 
edge.  He  was  married  at  nineteen,  and  at  twenty  was  the 
father  of  his  only  son,  Li.  The  name  Li,  “a  carp,”  was 
given  the  son,  it  is  thought,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  the  then  reigning  Duke,  who  sent  a  present  of 
a  carp  at  the  time  of  the  child’s  birth.  This  is  probable, 
for  Confucius  at  the  time  was  in  the  employ  of  the  ruler, 
as  steward  of  his  estate.  We  know  very  little  about  the 
wife  of  Confucius.  She  was  a  young  lady  from  the  state 
of  Sung.  The  marriage,  like  that  of  the  great  Greek 
teacher,  Socrates,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  happy 
one.  Tradition  says  that  Confucius  divorced  his  wife, 
but  the  belief  rests  upon  an  obscure  passage  in  the  Li  Ki,3 
or  “Book  of  Rites,”  which  is  capable  of  quite  a  different 
interpretation.  It  is  recorded  of  him,  however,  that  a  year 
after  his  wife’s  death,  when  his  son  still  kept  up  the  formal 
wailing  for  his  mother,  Confucius  rebuked  him  for  his 
excessive  grief.4  This  incident  and  others  related  of  him 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  Confucius  was  a  great  stickler 

2  Analects  11:4. 

3  Li  Ki;  T’an  Kung,  Section  I,  part  1:4. 

4  Ibid.,  Section  I,  part  1:28. 


226 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


for  form,  an  unimaginative  and  an  unsympathetic  literalist, 
who  placed  the  letter  above  the  spirit  of  the  regulations. 
If  so,  one  would  feel  a  good  deal  of  sympathy  with  the 
wife  who  had  had  to  live  so  many  years  with  such  a 
pedantic  worshiper  of  conventions. 

But  we  are  scarcely  justified  in  making  such  an  estimate 
of  his  character.  A  man  of  that  sort  would  hardly  have 
attracted  to  himself  such  a  group  of  devoted  disciples  as 
Confucius  had,  or  have  been  able  to  hold  their  affection 
and  loyalty  as  he  did,  through  years  of  apparent  failure 
and  misfortune.  His  tastes,  too,  would  indicate  a  compan¬ 
ionable  spirit.  He  was  fond  of  music  and  played  well  on 
the  lute.  He  had  faith  in  the  salutary  influence  of  good 
music  upon  the  human  character.  Shakespeare’s  lines 
would  have  delighted  him: 

The  man  that  hath  no  music  in  his  soul, 

And  is  not  moved  by  concord  of  sweet  sounds, 

Is  fit  for  treason,  strategems  and  spoils; 

Let  no  such  man  be  trusted. 

He  studied  music  under  a  celebrated  master,  and  when  in 
after  years  he  visited  the  state  of  Ch  ’i,  and  heard  the  Shao, 
it  is  said  he  knew  not  the  taste  of  meat  for  three  months, 
and  exclaimed  ‘ 1 1  never  imagined  there  could  be  such  music 
as  this.”5  He  said  to  his  disciples:  “A  man’s  character 
is  formed  by  the  Odes,  developed  by  the  Bites,  and  per¬ 
fected  by  Music.6  And  on  another  occasion  he  said :  ‘  ‘  When 
you  enter  a  state  you  can  know  what  the  people  have  been 
taught.  ...  If  they  are  large-hearted  and  generous,  bland 
and  honest,  they  have  been  taught  from  the  Book  of 
Music.  ’  ’ 7 

Confucius  was  an  earnest  student  and  he  was  also  an 
accomplished  musician,  but  this  is  not  all.  He  was  not 
indifferent  to  the  pleasures  of  out-door  life.  He  was  fond 
of  archery.  This  was  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  a 
gentleman  in  his  day.  It  was  one  of  the  six  arts  considered 

s  Analects  VII:  13. 

6  Analects  VIII: 8. 

7 Li  Ki  XXIII:!  (Legge). 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  227 

essential  to  a  liberal  education.  The  tournaments  were 
conducted  with  a  great  deal  of  ceremony.  A  chivalrous 
bearing  towards  competitors  was  cultivated.  The  shooting 
was  accompanied  by  music,  and  one  could  discharge  his 
arrow  only  when  the  proper  note  was  sounded.8  It  was 
the  teaching  of  the  day  that  archery  was  a  test  of  character. 
He  kept  a  stable,  too,  which  implies  a  measure  of  out-door 
life.  In  fact,  he  was  fond  of  horses  and  dogs,  which  would 
indicate  that  he  was  something  other  than  a  student,  that 
he  was,  in  fact,  a  natural  man  among  men.  A  touching 
incident  is  told  of  his  fondness  for  his  dog,  that,  when  the 
animal  died,  he  had  the  body  wrapped  in  the  silk  cover¬ 
ing  of  an  old  umbrella  to  keep  the  earth  from  touching 
it  when  he  laid  it  away  in  a  carefully  prepared  grave.  He 
was  also  a  good  sportsman,  for  we  are  told  that  he  never 
used  a  net  in  fishing,  but  a  line  only,  and  that  he  never 
shot  at  a  bird  while  it  was  at  rest.9 

All  these  things  indicate  that  Confucius  must  have  been 
a  very  likable  human  being.  The  very  tenacity  with  which 
he  clung  to  old  forms  was  perhaps  but  a  manifestation  of 
a  dominant  trait  of  his  character — a  trait  more  particularly 
shown  in  his  young  manhood — that  of  a  courageous  ad¬ 
herence  to  his  convictions :  “To  see  the  right  and  not  do 
it,”  said  he,  “that  is  cowardice.”  It  was,  no  doubt,  his 
keen  perception  of  the  moral  principle  underlying  any 
question  of  conduct,  and  his  resolute  insistence  upon  an 
effort  to  realize  his  ideals,  that  won  the  admiration  of  his 
followers  and  bound  them  to  him. 

HIS  VISIT  TO  THE  CAPITAL 

In  518  B.C.  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  town,  dying,  di¬ 
rected  that  his  young  son  should  be  placed  under  the 
tutelage  of  Confucius,  who  was  then  thirty-three  years  of 
age.  This  boy  had  a  chum  who  came  with  him  to  school, 
and  who  one  day  heard  the  teacher  express  an  ardent  desire 
to  visit  the  national  capital,  in  order  that  he  might  witness 

»  Li  Ki  XLTI3. 

9  Analcct9  VII:  26. 


228 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


the  service  in  the  royal  temple  and  make  enquiries  of  Lao 
Tzu  and  others  concerning  the  ritual.  The  chum  reported 
the  incident  to  the  reigning  duke,  and  the  duke  at  once 
provided  the  means  for  such  a  visit.  Confucius  accepted 
the  generous  offer,  and  made  what  was  then  a  long  and 
difficult  journey  to  Loyang,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the 
Yellow  River  in  north-western  Honan.  Even  to-day,  if 
made  in  a  cart  over  the  rough  roads  of  China,  such  a 
journey  would  require  ten  or  twelve  days.  In  Confucius’ 
time  certainly  it  needed  no  less. 

In  those  days  for  a  Chinese  in  a  distant  state  to  visit 
the  capital  was  as  great  an  event  in  his  life  as  it  used  to 
be  in  the  United  States  for  an  American  to  make  a  tour 
of  Europe.  At  Loyang,  where  many  heroes  of  his  race 
had  lived  and  died,  he  saw  the  ancient  palaces  and  temples. 
He  visited  the  great  park  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven  in  the 
suburbs.  From  childhood  he  had  taken  delight  in  the 
splendid  pageantry  of  the  ritual  prescribed  by  the  national 
religion.  But  up  to  the  time  of  this  visit  what  he  had 
seen  had  been  but  the  lesser  rites  observed  in  the  ducal 
temple  or  in  the  worship  of  his  ancestors.  Never  before 
had  he  seen  an  altar  erected  to  Shang  Ti,  the  Most  High, 
and  he  doubtless  looked  with  a  thrill  of  awe  upon  the 
vessels  of  the  sanctuary  which  perhaps  had  been  used  by 
King  Wu,  the  founder  of  the  Chou  Dynasty,  perhaps  by 
T’ang  the  Completer,  the  earlier  hero  of  the  House  of 
Shang.  He  saw  in  the  palaces  the  portraits  of  the  great 
sovereigns  of  whose  deeds  he  had  read  in  his  youth,  and 
he  must  have  felt  a  pang  of  sorrow  when  he  looked  upon 
the  decaying  city  and  the  neglected  court  and  realized  that 
the  House  of  Chou  was  doomed. 

He  called  upon  Li  Erh,  or  Lao  Tan,  as  he  is  also  called, 
the  unintentional  founder  of  Taoism,  a  man  who  was  as 
far  removed  in  his  sentiments  and  sympathies  from  the 
modem  Taoist  monk  as  Spinoza  from  Madame  Blavatsky. 
Li  Erh  is  known  to  the  world  generally  as  Lao  Tzu,  the 
“Old  Philosopher.”  He  was  custodian  of  the  archives, 
or  “Keeper  of  the  Rolls,”  as  one  might  call  him,  in  the 
ancient  capital  of  China.  Confucius  was  a  born  anti- 


229 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

quarian.  He  called  himself  ‘‘a  lover  of  the  ancients.” 
He  knew  that  Lao  Tzu  could  explain  to  him  many  passages 
in  the  sacred  books,  and  enable  him  to  understand  better 
than  he  had  understood  how  certain  requirements  of  the 
ritual  were  to  be  fulfilled.  But  Lao  Tzu  was  too  near  to 
the  court  and  temple,  too  familiar  with  the  ceremonies 
and  with  the  frailties  of  kings,  to  be  greatly  impressed, 
either  by  the  pagentry  of  the  one  or  the  personality  of  the 
other.  To  Confucius’  enquiries  he  is  reported  by  Ssu-ma 
Ch’ien,  the  great  historian,  to  have  replied  as  follows: 

Those  about  whom  you  enquire  have  mouldered  with  their  bones 
into  dust.  Nothing  but  their  words  remain.  When  the  hour  of 
the  great  man  has  struck  he  rises  to  leadership,  but  before  his 
time  has  come  he  is  hampered  in  all  that  he  attempts.  I  have 
heard  that  the  successful  merchant  carefully  conceals  his  wealth 
and  acts  as  though  he  had  nothing — that  the  great  man,  though 
abounding  in  achievements,  is  simple  in  his  manners  and  appear¬ 
ance.  Get  rid  of  your  pride  and  your  many  ambitions,  your 
affectations  and  your  extravagant  aims.  Your  character  gains 
nothing  from  all  these.  This  is  my  advice  to  you. 

The  language  probably  is  colored,  if  not  invented,  by  some 
Taoist  author,  for  the  Taoists  have  not  loved  Confucius. 
Ssu-ma  Ch’ien  records  the  alleged  conversation,  but  by 
his  phraseology  casts  doubt  upon  the  authenticity  of  the 
report.  Lao  Tzu  undoubtedly  was  curt,  and  if  he  was 
caustic  in  his  comments  they  would  not  be  altogether  out 
of  harmony  with  his  style  shown  in  the  Tao  Te  King.  But 
regardless  of  the  manner  in  which  he  received  Confucius, 
the  latter  was  deeply  impressed,  according  to  the  reports 
that  have  been  transmitted.  He  said  to  his  disciples : 

The  birds — I  know  they  can  fly;  the  fishes — I  know  they  can 
swim;  the  wild  beasts — I  know  they  can  run.  The  runner  may 
be  caught  by  a  trap,  the  swimmer  may  be  taken  with  a  line, 
and  the  flyer  may  be  shot  by  an  arrow.  But,  as  for  the  dragon, 
I  am  unable  to  know  how  he  rises  on  the  winds  and  the  clouds 
to  the  sky.  To-day  I  have  seen  Lao  Tzu;  he  is  like  the  dragon.10 

If  we  accept  the  report  of  this  interview  as  substantially 
correct,  we  may  explain  Lao  Tzu’s  attitude  towards  Con- 

10  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  Skih  Chi,  chap.  63,  Lao  Tzu  Chuan. 


230 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


fucius  by  recalling  that  Confucius  was  full  of  the  enthu¬ 
siasm  of  youth,  that  he  was  making  his  first  long  journey 
from  home,  and  that  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the  sights 
of  the  capital  and  the  places  of  historic  interest.  All 
seemed  very  wonderful  to  him.  He  doubtless  showed  great 
eagerness  in  his  questioning,  and  he  may  have  been  voluble 
in  expressing  his  own  opinions  upon  certain  points.  We 
may  remember,  too,  that  Lao  Tzu  was  old,  that  he  had 
lost  his  illusions,  if  he  ever  had  any,  and  that  he  was  a 
quietist.  He  thought  the  world  too  much  governed  and 
very  badly  governed.  He  says  in  the  Tao  Te  King :  ‘  ‘  They 
who  know  don’t  talk;  they  who  talk  don’t  know.”  He 
disliked  the  busybody  reformer  who  thought  he  could  cor¬ 
rect  the  faults  of  the  world  by  new  rules  and  laws.  He 
said : 

The  people  are  difficult  to  govern  because  too  much  learnedness 
is  employed.  To  govern  the  state  with  learnedness  is  the  spoil¬ 
ing  of  the  state.  To  avoid  the  use  of  learnedness  in  government, 
that  is  the  happiness  of  the  state. 

He  urged  a  “back  to  nature”  movement.  He  wanted  to 
promote  the  return  of  the  people  to  the  simple  life,  to  go 
back  to  the  use  of  the  knotted  cords  instead  of  writing, 
to  have  men  live  and  die  in  their  native  villages,  content 
with  their  surroundings  and  unacquainted  with  the  people 
even  in  the  nearest  neighboring  state.  His  ideal  man  was 
one  free  from  many  desires,  one  who  was  not  learned  and 
who  did  not  prize  things  difficult  to  obtain.  He  would  let 
things  alone  and  allow  nature  to  pursue  her  own  course. 
His  most  striking  utterances  are  in  paradoxical  form,  and 
his  criticisms  of  the  world  of  his  day  were  almost  vitriolic 
in  their  sarcasm.  Thus  he  says; 

When  the  great  Tao  is  forgotten,  then  we  have  virtue  and 
justice.  Learnedness  and  cleverness  appear,  then  we  have  much 
hypocrisy.  It  is  when  family  relations  are  inharmonious  that 
we  hear  of  filial  piety  and  affection.  The  government  is  con¬ 
fused  and  disorderly,  and  then  we  talk  of  loyalty  and  fidelity. 

Abjure  holiness  and  cast  away  learnedness,  and  the  people 
will  benefit  a  hundred  fold.  Abjure  mercy  and  cast  away  justice, 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  231 

and  the  people  will  revive  their  filial  piety  and  fraternal  affec¬ 
tion.  Abjure  your  cleverness  and  cast  away  your  profit,  and 
robbery  and  thieving  will  disappear.11 

Are  the  people  starving?  Because  their  rulers  consume  too 
many  taxes  therefore  they  starve.  Are  the  people  difficult  to 
govern?  Because  their  rulers  are  busy  about  it,  therefore  they 
are  difficult  to  govern.  Do  the  people  think  lightly  of  death? 
Because  of  their  intense  desire  for  real  life,  therefore  they  make 
light  of  death.12 

So,  if  this  eager  young  school-master  from  one  of  the 
distant  provinces  began  to  talk  to  Lao  Tzu  learnedly  about 
the  ancient  worthies,  and  perhaps  expound  theories  for 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  world,  it  would  not 
have  been  unnatural  for  Lao  Tzu  to  look  upon  the  stranger 
as  too  inquisitive,  and  make  an  attempt  to  puncture  what 
may  have  seemed  to  him  a  bubble  of  self-complacency 
colored  with  iridescent  dreams.  He  might  then  advise  the 
young  man  not  to  be  so  well  satisfied  with  himself  and  to 
give  up  his  extravagant  aims.  According  to  the  Book  of 
Rites,  Confucius  in  later  years  occasionally  referred  to 
other  conversations  with  Lao  Tzu,  in  which  he  had  obtained 
information  of  various  requirements  in  the  ceremonial 
regulations. 

The  visit  to  the  capital  undoubtedly  enhanced  the  repu¬ 
tation  of  Confucius  in  his  home  town.  It  is  said  that  his 
following  considerably  increased  thereafter.  But  he  was 
not  popular  with  all  classes.  To  a  good  many  people  he 
seemed  to  be  a  visionary,  too  unpractical  for  a  work-a-day 
world ;  and  he  was  too  stern  a  moralist  to  suit  the  careless 
nobles  who  ruled  the  land.  It  will  help  us  to  understand 
the  situation  to  call  to  mind  the  disturbed  political  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  empire. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

The  Chou  Dynasty  was  established  in  1122  B.C.  The 
founder,  King  Wu,  made  the  rather  natural  mistake  of 

11  Tao  Te  King,  18  and  19. 

12  Ibid.,  75. 


232 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


dividing  the  empire  among  his  near  relatives,  who  were 
bound  together  in  a  feudal  system  for  the  support  of  the 
crown.  During  the  first  two  or  three  generations  the  system 
worked  very  well;  the  rulers  of  the  various  states,  all 
related  by  blood  to  the  head  of  the  Kingdom,  were  loyal 
to  him  and  maintained  friendly  relations  one  with  another. 
But  as  the  centuries  passed,  the  tie  of  blood  grew  weaker. 
The  Middle  Kingdom,  in  which  the  capital  was  located, 
was  one  of  the  smaller  states.  Trusting  to  the  support  of 
its  vassals  its  own  military  forces  were  insignificant.  The 
outlying  states  had  room  to  expand  and  gradually  grew 
large,  prosperous  and  powerful.  Those  on  the  frontiers, 
exposed  to  raids  by  barbarous  tribes  of  alien  peoples,  grew 
more  and  more  experienced  in  war,  and  became  militaristic 
and  aggressive  in  their  character.  New  states  sprang  up 
on  the  borders,  ruled  by  chieftains  who  were  not  related 
to  the  Sovereign.  The  authority  of  the  King  gradually 
waned  as  the  strength  of  his  vassals  increased.  The  most 
powerful  of  the  latter  assumed  the  title  of  King.  Their 
allegiance  to  the  head  of  the  empire  became  formal  only. 
Since  he  was  the  representative  of  the  eldest  branch  of 
the  house  of  Chou  they  paid  him  honor.  His  authority  be¬ 
came  religious  rather  than  political  in  character.  In  the 
time  of  Confucius  the  great  states  had  become  practically 
independent.  They  made  war  upon  one  another  without 
regard  to  the  will  of  the  Chou  monarch,  and  entered  into 
treaties  with  each  other  as  though  they  were  entirely  sep¬ 
arate  and  each  sovereign  within  its  own  boundaries.  A 
situation  existed  not  altogether  unlike  that  which  was  seen 
in  Europe  after  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  when 
the  former  vassals  of  the  Emperor  became  sovereigns  of 
independent  states. 

One  of  the  frontier  states,  that  of  Ch’in,  in  the  north¬ 
west,  whose  ruler  was  not  related  to  the  Chous,  finally  in 
256  B.C.  overturned  the  Chou  Dynasty,  swallowed  up  the 
territories  of  all  the  states,  and  established  a  new  empire. 

But  in  the  days  of  Confucius  this  event  was  still  more 
than  two  centuries  in  the  future.  Confucius  mourned  over 
the  weakness  of  the  central  government,  and  constantly 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  233 

condemned  the  assumption  by  feudal  princes  of  titles, 
honors  and  functions  belonging  only  to  the  king. 

It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  the  civilization  of 
China  was  carried  into  Japan,  and  that  the  Confucian 
classics  became  the  Bible  of  Japan.  The  saints  and  heroes 
of  the  Chou  Dynasty  became  the  saints  and  heroes  admired 
by  the  Japanese,  and  so  long  years  afterward,  in  the  19th 
century  A.D.,  we  find  in  feudal  Japan  a  state  of  affairs 
very  similar  to  that  which  existed  in  China  in  the  days 
of  Confucius — the  Mikado  secluded,  reigning  but  not  rul¬ 
ing,  a  divinity  regarded  with  religious  veneration  by  the 
multitude,  but  the  puppet  of  designing  ministers  and  feudal 
lords,  who  made  war  one  upon  another. 

The  misgovernment  and  oppression  which  afflicted  China 
in  the  days  of  Confucius  stirred  the  indignation  of  that 
young  reformer.  While  traveling  with  some  of  his  dis¬ 
ciples  along  an  unfrequented  road  one  day  he  came  upon 
a  woman  weeping  by  a  grave.  He  sent  one  of  his  disciples 
to  offer  condolence.  The  disciple  said :  “  You  weep  as  if  you 
had  suffered  many  sorrows.”  She  replied:  “It  is  true. 
My  father-in-law  was  killed  here  by  a  tiger.  Later  my 
husband  was  also  killed  here  by  a  tiger,  and  now  my  son 
has  died  in  the  same  way.  ’  ’  The  Master  asked  her :  ‘  ‘  Why 
don’t  you  leave  the  place?”  She  replied:  “There  is  no 
oppressive  government  here.”  Then  said  Confucius  to  his 
disciples:  “Remember,  my  little  children;  oppressive  gov¬ 
ernment  is  more  terrible  than  tigers.  ’  ’ 13 

This  incident  probably  happened  when  Confucius  was 
leaving  his  native  state  to  go  into  exile.  There  was  civil 
war  in  the  state  of  Lu.  The  legitimate  ruler  had  been 
dethroned,  and  had  fled  to  the  neighboring  state  of  Ch’i. 
Confucius,  who  was  a  stickler  for  legitimacy,  followed  the 
duke.  While  living  in  the  state  of  Ch’i  its  ruler  offered 
him  the  revenues  of  a  small  district,  which  would  suffice 
for  his  support.  Confucius  declined.  To  his  disciples  he 
said:  “A  gentleman  will  not  receive  payment  except  for 
service  given,  and  although  I  have  offered  the  duke  advice 
he  has  not  acted  upon  it.”  His  fastidiousness  in  this 

13  Book  of  Bites,  T  'an  Kung,  Sec.  II,  part  3 : 10,  Legge. 


234 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


regard  was  somewhat  moderated  in  later  years,  for  we 
learn  that,  when  traveling  in  the  state  of  Wei  some  twenty 
years  later,  the  dnke  of  that  state  gave  him  a  stipend  of 
60,000  measures  of  grain  for  his  support,  which  he  accepted 
although  the  ruler  of  Wei  was  notoriously  corrupt. 

« 

HIS  OFFICIAL  CAREER 

Confucius  remained  in  Ch’i  about  eight  years,  and  upon 
his  return  to  his  native  state  lived  quietly  occupied  with 
his  researches  until  the  year  501  B.C.,  when  at  fifty-one 
years  of  age  he  accepted  an  appointment  as  governor  of 
Chungtu.  He  now  had  opportunity  to  put  his  theory  of 
government  to  the  test.  Thus  far  he  had  been  looked  upon 
as  a  visionary. 

The  ruler  of  Ch’i  had  found  pleasure  in  his  conversation 
during  his  sojourn  in  that  state,  and  had  been  disposed 
to  employ  him,  but  had  been  dissuaded  by  his  minister,  who 
showed  a  contempt  for  the  acedemic  theories  of  a  mere 
student  who  lacked  practical  experience.  One  cannot  avoid 
a  feeling  that  the  minister  was  not  altogether  wrong  when 
Confucius’  theories  are  considered.  He  held  that  a  virtu¬ 
ous  ruler  could  reform  a  state  by  force  of  his  example, 
that  the  people  would  imitate  him  spontaneously  and  flock 
to  his  standard,  ‘  ‘  as  the  grass  bows  when  the  wind  blows.  ’  ’ 
He  said:  “He  who  rules  by  his  virtuous  character  is  like 
the  polar  star,  which  rests  in  its  place  while  all  the  other 
stars  revolve  about  it. 9  ’ 14  On  another  occasion  he  de¬ 
clared  : 

If  you  guide  the  people  by  rules  and  correct  them  by  penalties, 
they  will  evade  them  and  lose  their  sense  of  shame;  but,  if  you 
guide  them  by  a  virtuous  example  and  correct  them  by  your  own 
piety,  they  will  keep  their  sense  of  shame  and,  moreover,  imitate 
your  example.15 

We  cannot  deny  the  influence  of  a  good  example,  but  we 
can  scarcely  accept  it  as  a  ruling  principle  of  political 

i*  Analects  11:1, 

is  Ibid.,  11:3. 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  23  5 

science,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Confucius  over¬ 
emphasized  its  importance.  When  asked  upon  one  occasion 
for  a  definition  of  government,  he  replied  with  a  pun: 

Cheng ?  (government) — that  is  cheng  (uprightness).  If  you, 
as  leader,  are  upright,  who  will  dare  not  to  be  upright ! 16 

On  another  occasion  he  said : 

When  the  ruler  is  pious,  none  among  the  people  will  dare  to 
be  irreverent.  When  the  ruler  loves  justice,  none  among  the 
people  will  dare  to  be  otherwise.  When  the  ruler  loves  good 
faith,  none  among  the  people  will  dare  not  to  keep  faith.  When 
the  ruler  is  of  such  sort,  the  people  of  the  four  quarters  will 
flock  to  him  with  their  children  strapped  upon  their  backs.17 

In  explanation  of  Confucius’  theory,  however,  it  must  be 
stated  that  by  a  “virtuous  example”  he  did  not  refer  alone 
to  the  private  character  of  the  ruler ;  he  included  the  right 
conduct  of  government.  The  word,  te,  which  he  employed, 
and  which  is  translated  “virtue,”  is  that  which  is  used  in 
the  title  of  Lao  Tzu’s  work,  the  Tao  Te  King,  and  which 
there  means  the  practical  exemplification  of  the  Tao,  or 
“teaching.”  Confucius  undoubtedly  used  the  word  in  a 
similar  sense.  When  he  spoke  of  a  “virtuous  example” 
he  did  not  refer  so  much  to  the  negative  virtues — the  ab¬ 
sence  of  vice — as  he  did  to  the  active  virtues.  Of  these  the 
Chinese  count  six:  “Wisdom,  humanity,  holiness,  justice, 
moderation,  and  conciliation.”  Thus,  taken  in  the  sense 
in  which  Confucius  meant  his  teaching  to  be  taken,  the 
ruler  who  governed  by  a  virtuous  example  was  one  who 
governed  wisely,  with  a  due  regard  for  human  rights,  who 
did  not  neglect  the  national  altars,  who  was  always  just, 
but  not  unduly  severe,  and  who  sought  peace  rather  than 
strife.  Such  a  monarch  would  deserve  to  win  the  confidence 
and  obedience  of  his  subjects.  That  this  was  the  meaning 
of  the  Sage  is  shown  in  numerous  sayings  uttered  by  him 
upon  the  art  of  government.  When  asked  by  one  of  his 
disciples  about  the  proper  administration  of  government 

16  Ibid.,  XII:  17. 

17  Analects  XIII:  4. 


236 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


he  explained  that  it  consisted,  among  other  things,  in  pro¬ 
moting  those  enterprises  on  which  the  people  depended  for 
their  gains,  yet  without  wasteful  expenditure  of  the  rev¬ 
enues,  and  in  using  the  corvee — which  was  common  in 
those  days — only  upon  works  of  real  necessity,  and  then 
without  interfering  with  the  peasants’  agricultural  occupa¬ 
tions.  He  pointed  out,  too,  that  a  ruler  should  not  become 
so  filled  with  a  sense  of  his  own  dignity  as  to  neglect  his 
duties,  no  matter  how  unimportant  they  might  seem,  and 
that  he  should  not  be  guilty  of  putting  men  to  death  for 
violation  of  law,  who  had  never  been  taught  their  duty 
under  the  law.18 

On  his  journey  to  the  state  of  Wei  he  commented  on  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  population.  A  disciple  asked  him 
saying :  “Now  that  the  people  are  so  numerous  what  should 
be  done  for  them?”  He  answered:  “Enrich  them.” 
“What  then?”  was  the  next  query.  “Educate  them,”  he 
said.19  Thus  he  recognized  the  welfare  of  the  people  as 
the  supreme  duty  of  the  state;  and  it  is  noteworthy  that 
he  made  their  material  prosperity  first  in  the  order  of  im¬ 
portance.  As  modifying  this  opinion  another  conversation 
may  be  quoted  in  which  he  declared  that  the  essentials  of 
good  government  were  “sufficient  food,  sufficient  military 
force,  and  the  confidence  of  the  people.”  When  asked 
which  should  be  given  up,  in  case  all  these  could  not  be 
obtained,  he  replied:  “The  military.”  If  two  of  the 
three  had  to  be  abandoned  he  declared  that  the  next  thing 
to  be  surrendered  should  be  “sufficient  food,”  “for,”  said 
he,  “men  have  always  had  to  die,  but  without  faith  no 
people  can  stand.  ’  ’20 

His  disciples,  looking  back  to  the  brief  term  of  his  public 
service  in  the  state  of  Lu,  thought  that  they  found  his 
theories  confirmed  by  this  practical  experience,  for  they 
reported  that  he  made  rules  for  the  support  of  the  living 
and  the  worship  of  the  dead,  that  old  and  young  had  food 
suited  to  their  needs,  the  relations  of  the  sexes  were  care- 

18  Ibid.,  XX:  2. 

19  Analects  XIII:  9. 

20  Ibid.,  XII:  7. 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  237 

fully  regulated,  and  such  good  order  was  maintained  that 
anything  lost  upon  the  road  was  never  wrongfully  appro¬ 
priated,  and  all  fraud  and  cheating  disappeared.  The 
duke,  astonished  by  the  results,  is  said  to  have  asked 
whether  the  same  method  of  government  might  be  applied 
to  the  whole  dukedom,  and  Confucius  is  reported  as  re¬ 
plying:  “Certainly,  not  only  to  the  state  but  to  the  whole 
empire.”  Not  long  afterwards  the  duke  appointed  Con¬ 
fucius  Minister  of  Justice,  and  crime  rapidly  diminished. 
It  became  unnecessary  to  apply  the  penal  code.  It  must 
be  admitted,  however,  that  his  theory  as  to  the  influence 
of  example  was  not  fully  confirmed  by  his  experience,  for 
his  own  filial  piety,  in  accordance  with  that  theory,  ought 
to  have  made  impossible  in  his  jurisdiction  such  a  case 
of  grossly  unfilial  conduct  as  has  been  mentioned  in  an 
earlier  chapter,  one  that  was  brought  before  him  for  judg¬ 
ment.  A  father  demanded  the  death  penalty  for  his  unruly 
son.  This  was  the  punishment  provided  by  law.  Confucius 
refused  to  put  the  son  to  death,  and  imprisoned  both  the 
disobedient  son  and  the  complaining  father.  The  duke 
objected,  but  the  judge  declared:  “If  seniors  neglect  their 
duty  and  yet  demand  that  their  juniors  be  put  to  death, 
it  is  not  just.  This  father  has  never  taught  his  son  to  be 
filial.” 

In  496  B.C.  he  became  Prime  Minister  of  his  native 
state,  and  it  seems  probable  that  it  was  during  his  exercise 
of  this  office  that  he  served  as  Master  of  Ceremonies  at  an 
interview  between  the  Duke  of  Lu  and  the  Duke  of  Ch’i, 
for  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty.  A  plot  had  been  formed 
for  the  kidnaping  of  the  ruler  of  Lu.  Confucius  discov¬ 
ered  it  and  prevented  its  execution.  Then  he  skillfully 
made  such  good  use  of  the  incident  that  he  obtained  an 
advantageous  treaty  of  alliance  and  a  retrocession  of  terri¬ 
tory  that  had  been  taken  from  Lu. 

His  accession  to  this  high  post  in  his  native  state  is 
represented  by  his  disciples  as  having  aroused  the  envy  and 
fears  of  the  Duke  of  Ch’i.  The  latter,  we  are  informed, 
thereupon  resorted  to  an  unworthy  strategem  to  win  the 
Duke  of  Lu  from  his  attachment  to  the  Sage.  A  present 


238  Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

of  eighty  beautiful  chorus  girls  and  120  thoroughbred 
horses  was  sent  to  the  ruler  of  Lu.  He  accepted  them,  and 
was  soon  so  absorbed  in  pleasure  as  to  neglect  the  duties 
of  state.  This  discouraged  Confucius.  He  felt  that  he 
could  no  longer  exercise  a  good  influence,  and  accordingly 
resigned. 

HIS  EXILE 

For  five  years  he  had  served  his  prince  in  various 
capacities  and  with  considerable  success,  but  five  years 
was  a  brief  period  and  his  influence  must  have  been  slight 
after  all,  if  a  girl  and  a  horse  could  cause  such  a  sudden 
and  complete  disregard  of  his  advice,  and  such  utter  neglect 
of  the  administration  as  is  represented.  Sadly  and  reluc¬ 
tantly  he  left  his  native  land  and  went  abroad,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  elsewhere  a  ruler  who  would  accept  his  theories 
of  government,  and  bring  in  the  reforms  that  would  cure 
the  crying  ills  of  the  time. 

For  thirteen  years  he  wandered  in  this  self-imposed  exile. 
He  visited  various  states,  was  received  with  honor  in  some, 
but  failed  to  find  that  acceptance  for  his  principles  which 
he  sought.  He  visited  the  state  of  Wei  a  number  of  times, 
and  seems  to  have  had  a  liking  for  its  ruler.  At  one  time 
he  accepted  a  stipend  from  him,  as  already  said,  although 
he  was  not  appointed  to  any  office.  But  the  courtiers  were 
jealous  of  him  and,  after  ten  months,  he  left  Wei  for  Sung. 
He  was  attacked  on  the  way  to  the  latter  place,  and  after 
some  delay  changed  his  mind  and  returned  to  Wei.  There 
he  found  his  position  embarrassing,  because  he  had  to  ride 
behind  the  duke  and  the  beautiful  but  notorious  woman 
who  was  his  consort.  The  people  were  amused  by  what 
they  called  4  ‘  virtue  following  in  the  train  of  vice, 7  7  and  the 
humiliation  was  more  than  the  sage  could  endure.  He 
departed  again,  in  494,  and  this  time,  after  some  adven¬ 
tures  and  delays,  reached  Ch’en.  In  two  years,  however, 
he  returned  again  to  Wei.  On  this  journey  he  was  taken 
captive  by  some  enemies,  who  made  him  take  a  solemn 
oath  that  he  would  not  proceed  to  Wei.  He  took  the  oath, 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  239 

but  as  soon  as  he  was  free  violated  it  and  went  on  to  Wei. 
Some  of  his  followers  were  astonished  by  such  disregard 
of  his  plighted  word,  for  Confucius  had  taught  them  to 
“hold  sincerity  and  good  faith  as  ruling  principles.”21 
Confucius,  however,  justified  his  action  on  the  ground  that 
the  oath  was  extorted  from  him  by  force  and  was  not 
binding.  These  years  of  adversity  and  wandering  had 
wrought  considerable  change  in  the  man  who,  in  his  youth, 
had  shown  such  rigid  adherence  to  lofty  principles.  The 
Duke  of  Wei  was  growing  old,  but  he  was  as  little  inclined 
as  ever  to  adopt  Confucius’  advice.  He  was  kind  to  him 
but  did  not  employ  him. 

Discouraged  by  repeated  failure,  the  great  teacher  was 
almost  disposed  to  accept  an  invitation  from  the  leader 
of  a  rebellion  in  an  adjoining  state.  He  was  dissuaded  by 
a  disciple,  who  pointed  out  the  inconsistency  of  such  action 
in  one  who  had  been  such  a  staunch  supporter  of  legitimacy. 
Subsequently  Confucius  proposed  to  visit  the  state  of  Chin, 
but  he  discovered  that  a  revolution  was  going  on  there 
and  came  back  to  Wei.  He  then  removed  to  Ch’en  and  from 
there  to  Ts’ai.  Prom  the  latter  place  he  went  to  Ye,  a 
territory  that  had  revolted  from  the  state  of  Ts’u.  Con¬ 
fucius  would  have  taken  office  under  the  rebel  leader,  but 
found  no  more  willingness  there  than  elsewhere  to  accept 
his  teaching.  He  went  back  to  Ts’ai,  where  he  remained 
three  years,  after  which  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  Ts’u, 
one  of  the  three  most  powerful  states  in  China,  then  strug¬ 
gling  for  the  mastery.  The  ruler  of  Ts’u  would  have 
employed  him  but  was  dissuaded  by  courtiers,  and  the 
wanderer,  now  sixty-three  years  of  age,  returned  to  Wei, 
where  he  found  the  grandson  of  his  former  patron  engaged 
in  rebellion  against  his  own  father.  Confucius  was  invited 
to  accept  a  position  in  his  service,  but  he  could  not  bring 
himself  to  support  a  son  in  rebellion  against  his  father,  the 
legitimate  ruler  of  the  state,  so  he  went  into  retirement. 
After  some  five  or  six  years  spent  in  this  seclusion  in  Wei, 
a  messenger  arrived  from  his  native  state  of  Lu,  inviting 
him  to  return.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  but  even  in  his 

21  Analects  XII :  10. 


240  Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

home  state  he  found  the  government  conducted  upon  prin¬ 
ciples  which  he  could  not  endorse.  Nor  did  the  ruler  show 
any  desire  to  serve  the  cause  of  righteousness  and  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  people. 

The  career  of  Confucius  to  all  appearance  had  been  a 
failure — a  great  failure.  Well  did  he  say:  “I  have  never 
seen  a  man  who  loved  virtue  as  much  as  he  loved  beauty.” 
And  on  another  occasion:  “I  have  never  been  able  to  see 
a  holy  man;  could  I  see  a  noble  one  I  should  be  content. 
I  have  never  been  able  to  find  a  good  man;  could  I  find 
a  constant  one  it  would  be  enough.” 

But  the  years  of  wandering  had  not  been  altogether 
fruitless.  It  was  during  these  years  of  adversity  that  he 
gave  to  the  few  faithful  disciples  who  followed  him  much 
of  the  teaching  which  has  made  him  one  of  the  great  moral 
leaders  of  the  race.  These  disciples  treasured  every  word 
that  fell  from  his  lips,  and,  so  great  was  their  veneration 
for  him,  that  even  his  little  mannerisms  were  noted  as 
worthy  of  record.  We  are  gravely  informed  that  he  never 
stood  in  the  gate-way  of  the  palace  nor  stepped  upon  the 
door-sill;  that  at  audiences  his  robe,  front  and  back,  hung 
straight,  and  that  he  moved  with  his  arms  outstretched  like 
a  bird  flying;  that  he  didn’t  wear  purple  facings  nor 
use  red,  even  in  undress,  that  his  night-shirt  was  half  as 
long  again  as  his  body,  that  he  liked  fine  rice  and  wanted 
his  meat  minced;  that  his  only  limit  in  wine  was  to  stop 
short  of  confusion,  and  that  he  would  not  eat  without 
ginger.22  We  can  forgive  this  careful  record  of  trivialities 
for  the  sake  of  the  picture  which  it  gives  us  of  the  man, 
so  punctilious  and  yet  so  human.  He  was  “  amiable  but 
dignified,”  we  are  told,  “strict  but  not  severe,  polite  but 
at  ease.”  We  are  told,  too,  that  if  a  friend  died  in  need 
he  would  say:  “I’ll  attend  to  his  funeral,”  and  that 
“when  he  heard  a  good  song  he  would  ask  to  have  it  re¬ 
peated  and  would  himself  join  in  the  melody.”  With  all 
modesty,  too,  he  disclaimed  being  a  sage,  and  declared  that 
while  he  might  have  some  literary  ability  he  had  not  yet 


22  See  Analects  X. 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


241 


attained  to  the  living  of  the  ideal  life.23  Among  note¬ 
worthy  sayings  which  fell  from  his  lips,  other  than  those 
already  mentioned,  I  qnote  these: 

Have  no  friends  not  equal  to  yourself.24 

If  you  have  faults,  do  not  fear  to  abandon  them.25 

Sorrow  not  that  men  do  not  know  you,  but  sorrow  that  you 
do  not  know  men.26 

Hear  the  truth  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  you  can  die 
without  regret.27 

The  princely  man  thinks  of  virtue;  the  mean  man  of  gain.28 

Do  not  unto  others  what  you  do  not  like  done  unto  yourself.29 

We  know  not  life;  how  can  we  know  death! 30 

Rotten  wood  can’t  be  carved,  and  a  dung  wall  ought  not  to 
be  whitewashed.31 

Formerly  I  listened  to  men’s  words  and  took  their  actions  for 
granted;  now  I  listen  to  their  words,  but  I  also  watch  their 
conduct.32 

He  who  knows  not  the  will  of  God  can  not  be  a  princely  man. 
He  who  knows  not  the  Rites  has  nothing  with  which  to  shape 
his  character.33 

The  princely  man  is  catholic,  not  narrow;  the  small-minded 
man  is  narrow,  not  catholic.34 

Only  the  humane  man  can  love  men  or  hate  them.35 

The  princely  man  aims  to  be  cautious  in  speech  but  prompt 
in  action.36 

Those  who  know  are  free  from  doubt.  The  humane  are  free 
from  sorrow;  the  courageous,  from  fear.37 

Over-passing  is  like  coming  short  (of  the  mark).38 

Self-denial  and  piety — these  are  virtue.39 

Who  takes  no  thought  for  the  future  has  sorrow  at  the  door.40 


HIS  LITERARY  WORK 

After  Confucius  in  his  old  age  had  returned  to  Lu  he 
gave  himself  up  to  study  and  to  literary  work.  This  work 
was  not  that  of  an  author,  but  rather  of  an  editor.  He 


23  Ibid.,  VII  and  X. 

24  Ibid.,  1:8. 

25  Ibid.,  1:8. 

20  Ibid.,  1:16. 

27  Ibid.,  IV: 8. 

28  Ibid.,  IV:  11. 

29  Ibid.,  XII :2. 
so  Ibid.,  XI:  11. 

3i  Ibid.,  V :9. 


32  Ibid.,  V :9. 

33  Ibid.,  XX: 3. 

34  Ibid.,  11:14. 

35  Ibid.,  IV:  3. 
so  Ibid.,  IV :24. 

37  Ibid.,  IX  :28. 

38  Ibid.,  XI:  15. 

39  Ibid.,  XII  :1. 

40  Ibid.,  XV:  II. 


242 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


said  of  himself:  “I  am  not  a  creator  but  a  transmitter, 
one  who  has  faith  in  the  ancients  and  loves  them.  ’  ’ 41 

Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  from  whose  biography  of  Confucius 
much  of  this  chapter  has  been  drawn,42  tells  us  that  the 
Sage  made  a  careful  study  of  the  rites  of  the  Three  Dy¬ 
nasties  (i.e.  the  Hsia,  the  Shang  and  the  Chou),  and  that 
he  classified  the  subjects  treated  and  grouped  the  passages 
under  their  proper  headings.  He  says,  moreover,  that  he 
wrote  an  introduction  to  the  Shu  King,  or  Canon  of  His¬ 
tory,  and  placed  the  historical  fragments  of  which  the 
work  is  composed  in  their  proper  order,  beginning  with 
the  times  of  Yao  and  Shun,  and  coming  down  to  the  period 
of  Duke  Wu  of  Ch’in  (i.e.  2357-621  B.C.).  He  notes,  too, 
that  he  made  a  selection  from  the  more  than  three  thou¬ 
sand  odes  then  extant,  and  that  he  suppressed  those  which 
he  did  not  consider  useful  in  the  rites  or  animated  by  the 
proper  spirit.  There  are  apparently  some  references  in 
the  Analects  to  his  work  on  the  Rites.  He  is  reported  as 
saying  that  he  could  talk  of  the  rites  of  the  Hsia  and  the 
Yin  Dynasties,  but  that  he  could  not  obtain  sufficient  con¬ 
firmation  of  his  opinions  from  the  houses  of  Ch’i  and  Sung 
— the  heirs  of  these  two  dynasties.  He  is  quoted  in  an¬ 
other  passage  as  referring  to  the  correction  that  had  been 
made  in  the  music  of  the  ritual  after  his  return  home.  As 
is  well  known  the  tyrant  of  the  Ch’in  Dynasty  attempted 
to  destroy  the  Confucian  books  in  213  B.C.  But  four  years 
later  he  was  dead,  and  in  202  the  new  dynasty  of  Han 
arose.  In  the  mean  time  many  scholars  had  preserved 
portions  of  the  ancient  literature.  The  Li  Ki  or  Book  of 
Rites,  as  we  have  it  to-day,  perhaps  contains  most  of  the 
collection  made  by  Confucius,  but  also  contains  other  docu¬ 
ments,  so  that  it  is  not  identical  with  the  Rites,  as  edited 
by  him.  In  its  present  form  it  dates  from  the  second  cen¬ 
tury  of  our  era. 

Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  quoting  from  a  distinguished  scholar,  a 
descendant  of  Confucius,  assures  us  that  Confucius,  in  edit- 

41  ibid.,  VII  :1. 

42  For  accounts  in  English  of  the  life  of  Confucius  see  Soothill’s 
Analects,  Introduction  II,  or  Douglas’  ‘‘Confucianism  and  Taouism.” 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  243 

ing  the  ancient  historical  records,  arranged  them  in  one 
hundred  books.  The  present  Shu  King,  or  Canon  of  His¬ 
tory,  contains  but  fifty-nine,  even  when  we  count  the  sec¬ 
tions  of  books  as  separate  documents. 

The  Odes  as  we  possess  them  are  probably  identical  with 
the  collection  made  by  Confucius,  but  we  cannot  help  wish¬ 
ing  that  he  had  possessed  more  of  that  love  of  the  ancients, 
which  he  professed  to  feel,  so  that  every  fragment  of 
ancient  literature  could  have  been  preserved,  and  not 
merely  those  that  supported  his  opinions  as  to  ancient  prac¬ 
tice,  or  measured  up  to  his  ethical  standard. 

The  work  which  he  regarded  most  highly,  and  by  which 
he  declared  that  he  would  be  judged,  is  the  Ch’un  Ch’iu, 
or  Annals,  compiled  just  before  his  death,  and  drawn 
chiefly,  it  is  believed,  from  the  official  records  of  the  state 
of  Lu.  When  one  reads  this  work  he  cannot  but  wonder 
what  it  was  in  it  that  gave  satisfaction  to  Confucius.  It 
is  a  bare ‘chronicle  of  events  covering  a  period  of  242  years. 
Dr.  Legge,  in  his  Prolegomena,  says  truly  that  it  is 

Without  the  slightest  tincture  of  literary  ability  in  the  compo¬ 
sition,  or  the  slightest  indication  of  judicial  opinion  on  the  part 
of  the  writer. 

It  is  nothing  but  the  syllabus  of  a  book.  Without  the  com¬ 
mentary  of  Tso  Ch’iu-ming  it  would  be  an  arid  literary 
desert,  a  valley  of  dry  bones.  Tso  alone  has  breathed  upon 
these  lines  and  clothed  them  with  flesh  and  made  them 
live.  He  gives  details  of  the  events  to  which  a  bare  allusion 
is  made  by  Confucius,  and  by  his  anecdotes  adds  color  and 
flavor  to  the  record.  The  commentary  is  the  thing  worth 
reading ;  the  Annals  are  but  chapter  headings.  One 
wonders,  whether,  after  all,  the  Ch’un  Ch’iu  is  anything 
more  than  the  outline  of  the  work,  which  the  Master  did 
not  live  to  complete,  but  which  the  extravagant  admiration 
of  the  disciples  for  the  Master  have  induced  them  to  accept 
as  the  work  itself.  If  it  is  by  the  Annals  that  Confucius 
is  to  be  judged,  as  he  declared,  the  judgment  cannot  be  a 
favorable  one.  Not  only  is  there  shown  an  utter  absence 
of  literary  ability — an  entire  lack  of  that  trenchant  criti- 


244  Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

cism  of  men  and  events  which  one  finds  in  his  conversations 
with  his  disciples,  or  with  the  princes  of  his  day — there 
is  no  expression  of  praise  or  blame,  such  as  would  be 
expected  from  the  great  moral  teacher  of  his  race.  Dr. 
Legge  goes  much  farther  than  this  in  his  severe  criticism 
of  the  work.  He  accuses  Confucius  of  deliberately  misrep¬ 
resenting  the  history  of  the  period  covered,  by  concealing 
some  of  the  facts  and  distorting  others.  He  declares  that 
Confucius  “had  no  reverence  for  truth  in  history,”  that 
he  ‘  ‘  shrank  from  looking  the  truth  fairly  in  the  face,  ’  ’  and 
that  “he  had  more  sympathy  with  power  than  with  weak¬ 
ness,  and  would  overlook  wickedness  and  oppression  in 
authority  rather  than  resentment  and  revenge  in  men  who 
were  suffering  from  them.  ’  ’  43  Dr.  Legge  supports  his  in¬ 
dictment  by  numerous  quotations.  Such  a  falsification  of 
history  as  is  charged  would  be  the  more  remarkable  in 
view  of  the  praise  given  by  Confucius  to  the  historiog¬ 
raphers  who  would  leave  a  blank  in  the  record  rather 
than  record  an  inaccurate  statement.44  In  fact,  the  his¬ 
toriographers  of  China  to  this  day  are  distinguished  for 
their  faithful  record  of  events  as  they  occur,  and  instances 
can  be  given  in  which  they  have  suffered  death  rather  than 
change  the  entry  made. 

For  myself  I  am  disposed  to  accept  the  judgment  of  a 
few  Chinese  writers,  that  the  text  of  the  Annals  which 
we  have  is  not  the  text  of  the  work  compiled  by  Confucius. 


HIS  DEATH  AND  CANONIZATION 

In  the  year  479  B.C.  when  Confucius  was  seventy-two 
years  of  age,  he  was  seen  walking  slowly  to  and  fro  mut¬ 
tering  to  himself  these  words : 

Mt.  T’ai  must  crumble; 

The  great  beam  will  break; 

The  wise  man,  too,  will  wither  away. 

43  Chinese  Classics  V.  Part  I  Prolegomena,  Section  V. 

44  Analects  XV : 25. 


TOMB  OF  CONFUCIUS.  DISTANT  VIEW  OF  MOUNT  TAl,  SHANTUNG.  THE 

MOST  SACRED  MOUNTAIN  IN  CHINA. 


.  . 

. 


. 


■ 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  245 

One  of  his  younger  disciples,  Tzu  Kung,  was  with  him  at 
the  time,  and  saw  that  his  old  master  was  ill.  Tzu  Kung’s 
surname  was  Tuan-mu.  His  personal  name  was  Tzu.  By 
this  last  he  was  familiarly  called  by  Confucius.  As  he 
came  in  the  Master  said :  ‘  ‘  Tzu,  why  are  you  late  ?  I  had 
a  dream  last  night.  I  dreamt  that  I  was  sitting  in  the  hall 
between  the  pillars  with  funeral  offerings  before  me.  No 
wise  monarch  comes  to  power.  There  is  no  one  who  wants 
me  for  a  teacher.  My  time  to  die  has  come.”  He  was 
right ;  in  a  week  he  had  passed  away.  It  was  the  11th  day 
of  the  Fourth  Moon  in  the  year  479  B.C. 

He  was  buried  outside  the  north  gate  of  Ch’iifu,  where 
his  grave  may  still  be  seen.  A  number  of  his  disciples  kept 
watch  at  the  side  of  his  tomb  for  three  years.  Tzu  Kung 
remained  there  for  six  years.  The  site  of  his  hut  is  pointed 
out  to-day  to  the  traveler  who  visits  the  grave.  The  Duke 
of  Lu,  who  found  no  use  for  the  advice  of  Confucius  while 
he  lived,  mourned  for  him  when  he  was  dead.  In  China, 
as  in  the  West,  men  neglect  the  prophets  while  they  live, 
but  build  magnificent  monuments  to  them  after  they  are 
dead.  Thus  Duke  Ai  built  a  temple  to  the  memory  of 
Confucius,  and  directed  that  sacrifices  should  be  offered  to 
his  spirit  four  times  a  year.  From  that  day  to  this,  except 
during  the  brief  period  when  Confucianists  were  being  per¬ 
secuted  in  the  third  century  B.C.,  he  has  been  publicly  wor¬ 
shiped.  At  first  this  honor  was  done  him  only  in  his 
native  state.  But  in  195  B.C.  the  founder  of  the  Han 
Dynasty  visited  his  grave  and  made  an  offering  of  an  ox 
in  sacrifice.  In  A.D.  57  the  worship  was  introduced  into 
the  colleges  of  the  empire.  In  A.  D.  609  he  was  worshiped 
in  temples  specially  erected  for  that  purpose  and  dedicated 
to  him.  At  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchus  in 
1912  there  were  not  less  than  1500  temples  in  China  set 
apart  for  this  worship. 

Until  the  year  1906  the  Manchu  code  provided  that  the 
sacrifices  to  Confucius  should  be  of  the  second  grade,  that 
is  to  say  one  degree  lower  than  those  offered  to  the  Most 
High.  But  in  1906  the  Empress  Dowager,  Tzu  Hsi,  issued 
an  edict  raising  Confucius  to  the  first  rank  in  the  Chinese 


246  Confucius  and  his  Teaching 

pantheon,  and  ordering  the  same  honors  paid  to  him  that 
were  paid  to  the  Supreme  God.  This  edict  possibly  was 
due  to  the  desire  to  make  the  great  teacher  of  the  East 
equal  in  rank  with  the  great  teacher  of  the  West,  who  in 
the  mission  schools  was  held  to  be  one  with  God  and  to 
be  worshiped  as  God.  This  desire  was  strengthened  by 
the  fears  expressed  by  the  commissioners  who  drew  up  the 
new  public  school  system,  as  already  related,  a  fear  that 
the  national  religion  might  lose  its  hold  upon  the  students 
in  the  schools  who  were  to  take  up  the  study  of  Western 
science  and  foreign  languages.  Because  of  this  fear  they 
had  urged  that  the  students  be  required  to  attend  the 
services  of  their  ancestral  religion.  The  increased  honor 
paid  to  the  Sage,  it  was  no  doubt  believed,  would  increase 
the  reverence  of  the  young  for  him.  This  plan  to 
strengthen  the  established  faith  included  also  the  creation 
at  Ch’iifu,  the  ancient  home  of  Confucius,  of  a  school  to 
be  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Confucian  classics,  the  sacred 
literature  of  China,  so  that  there  might  never  be  lacking 
those  who  could  expound  the  teachings  of  these  books.  An 
edict  to  this  effect  was  promulgated  at  the  same  time  as 
that  raising  the  rank  of  the  Sage  in  the  pantheon. 

When  Duke  Yen,  the  lineal  descendant  of  Confucius  in 
the  76th  generation,  read  these  edicts,  he  asked  permission 
to  visit  Peking  and  pay  his  respects  to  Her  Imperial 
Majesty,  the  Empress  Dowager.  He  came,  and  at  the 
audience  granted  him  he  expressed  his  gratitude  for  the 
high  honor  done  to  his  ancestor,  but  he  also  asked  that  the 
school  to  be  established  at  Ch’iifu  might  be  made,  not 
simply  a  school  for  the  study  of  China’s  sacred  books,  but 
also  a  school  for  teaching  foreign  languages,  western 
science,  international  law,  and  political  economy.  His  re¬ 
quest,  of  course,  was  not  granted,  for  the  original  intention 
of  the  Empress  Dowager  was  to  make  the  ancient  home 
of  Confucius  a  center  of  conservative  influences  to  counter¬ 
act  the  feared  tendencies  of  the  new  learning. 

The  author  had  the  privilege  of  two  interviews  with  the 
Duke  during  this  visit,  and  found  him  to  be  a  rather  hand¬ 
some  man,  in  the  prime  of  life,  physically  fit  and  mentally 


V 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching  247 

alert.  He  enquired  about  the  mission  schools  in  China  and 
showed  keen  interest  in  Western  education. 

Before  the  plans  for  a  classical  school  at  Ch’iifu  could 
be  carried  out  the  Empress  Dowager  died.  A  little  later 
the  revolution  swept  the  Manchus  out  of  power,  and  inau¬ 
gurated  a  period  of  irreligion  not  unlike  that  which  ac¬ 
companied  the  French  revolution.  The  sacrifices  at  the 
state  altars  in  Peking  and  in  the  provinces  were  neglected. 
The  temples  were  abandoned;  their  courts  were  overgrown 
with  weeds.  The  sacred  inclosure  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven 
was  opened  to  the  populace.  Ribald  inscriptions  were 
scrawled  upon  the  walls.  The  altar  to  the  Most  High  was 
desecrated  by  the  erection  upon  it  of  booths  for  the  sale  of 
food  and  cigarettes.  The  Temple  to  the  Earth  was  con¬ 
verted  into  barracks,  and  the  Temple  of  Agriculture  be¬ 
came  a  public  park  and  a  show  ground  for  jugglers  and 
acrobats.  After  a  few  months,  however,  there  came  a 
reaction.  A  society  was  organized  to  urge  the  re-establish¬ 
ment  of  Confucianism  as  the  religion  of  the  state.  A  great 
national  convention  was  held  at  Ch’iifu  in  September,  1913. 
Officially  it  met  on  the  24th  day  of  the  Eighth  Moon  of 
the  2464th  year  of  Confucius.  The  27th  of  the  Moon  was 
observed  as  the  birthday  of  the  Sage.  The  convention  lasted 
one  week,  and  met  in  the  Confucian  Temple.  Duke  Yen 
attended.  The  autumn  sacrifices  to  Confucius  were  offered 
that  year  in  Peking  and  in  some  of  the  provincial  capitals. 
President  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  attempted  to  re-establish  the  an¬ 
cient  national  religion,  and  make  it  the  religion  of  the 
Republic,  but  after  his  death  the  modernists  had  their  way, 
and  the  Chinese  Republic,  like  our  own,  was  kept  free 
from  the  control  of  any  one  sect. 

Not  long  after  the  meeting  of  the  national  Confucian  con¬ 
vention  at  Ch’iifu  I  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting  that 
ancient  town.  The  railway  now  passes  within  six  miles 
of  it.  A  Chinese  cart  carried  us  over  the  old  road  so  often 
trodden  by  the  feet  of  the  Sage,  and  not  far  from  the 
station  we  forded  the  River  Wen,  the  old  boundary  be¬ 
tween  the  states  of  Lu  and  Ch’i.  We  entered  the  town 
by  the  North  Gate  and,  on  reaching  the  Drum  Tower  in 


248 


Confucius  and  his  Teaching 


the  center  of  the  place,  we  turned  toward  the  west.  Not 
far  away  we  found  the  temple,  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
the  temples  in  China  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  great 
teacher.  There  is  the  usual  succession  of  buildings  and 
spacious  courts.  The  buildings  are  roofed  with  yellow 
glazed  tiles;  the  walls  are  covered  with  vermilion  stucco. 
The  pillars  along  the  corridors,  instead  of  being  teak 
covered  with  red  lacquer,  as  is  customary  in  other  temples, 
are  of  marble,  carved  with  entwining  dragons.  Behind 
the  principal  hall,  separated  from  it  by  a  court,  there  is 
a  smaller  hall  in  which  is  preserved  a  series  of  tablets  de¬ 
picting  important  incidents  in  the  life  of  Confucius  as 
recorded  in  the  Chia  Yii  or  Family  Traditions. 

A  small  pavilion  in  one  of  the  courts  covers  a  stone 
monument,  whose  inscription  tells  us  that  it  is  erected  on 
the  site  of  a  favorite  apricot  tree,  under  which  the  teacher 
loved  to  sit.  The  home  of  Duke  Yen  adjoins  the  temple 
grounds.  Outside  the  north  gate,  about  half  a  mile  distant, 
is  the  entrance  to  the  cemetery.  It  is  beautifully  shaded 
with  numerous  trees,  and  the  path  to  the  tomb  passes  over 
a  stone  bridge  which  spans  the  little  stream  known  as  the 
Chu.  The  way  is  bordered  by  stone  images  of  lions,  horses 
and  men.  A  little  shrine  near  the  tomb  shelters  the  altar 
and  the  tablet  that  bears  his  posthumous  title.  Duke  Yen 
was  engaged  there,  when  we  arrived,  offering  special  sac¬ 
rifices  in  behalf  of  the  President. 

The  grave  itself  is  a  simple  mound  marked  by  a  plain 
stone.  Around  it  are  gathered  the  graves  of  innumerable 
descendants.  In  the  great  imperial  cemeteries  near  Peking 
we  had  seen  the  huge  mounds  and  magnificent  mausolea 
that  made  the  resting  places  of  once  mighty  but  forgotten 
monarchs.  The  “Uncrowned  King”  needs  no  such  im¬ 
posing  structure  to  guard  his  grave  or  preserve  his  dust 
from  desecration.  In  the  hearts  of  four  hundred  millions 
of  living  men  his  memory  is  enshrined,  and  the  pathway 
to  his  grave  will  be  worn  by  the  pilgrim  feet  of  a  thousand 
generations  yet  unborn.  For  virtue  is  mightier  than  valor, 
and  the  teacher  of  righteousness  than  the  conqueror  of  a 
thousand  cities. 


CHAPTER  XII 


CONFUCIANISM  IN  THE  HOME 

The  services  of  love  and  reverence  to  parents  when  alive,  and 
those  of  grief  and  sorrow  to  them  when  dead: — these  completely 
discharge  the  fundamental  duty  of  living  men. 

The  Hsiao  King,  translated  by  Legge. 

Under  the  Manchu  Dynasty  the  Chinese  Government 
officially  recognized  three  religions :  the  Ju  Chiao,  the  Shill 
Ckiao  and  the  Tao  Chiao.  The  last-mentioned  is  Taoism. 
The  term,  Skill  Ckiao,  is  one  applied  to  Buddhism.  The 
words,  Ju  Ckiao,  mean  “the  Religion  of  the  Learned/ * 
Sometimes  it  is  called  Ta  Ckiao,  or  “the  Great  Religion/ ’ 
and  not  infrequently  it  is  known  as  the  K’ung  Ckiao,  or 
“Confucian  Religion.”  This  is  the  name  by  which  it  is 
generally  known  among  Americans  and  Europeans. 

There  is  no  foundation  in  truth  for  the  statement  some¬ 
times  heard  that  “Confucianism  is  not  a  religion,  but  a 
system  of  ethics.”  The  author  of  the  statement  may  have 
meant  that  Confucius  was  a  teacher  of  ethics  and  not  the 
founder  of  a  religion.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not  found 
a  religion,  but  “Confucianism”  is  the  generally  accepted 
name  of  the  religion  practiced  by  Confucius,  the  religion 
whose  sacred  books  were  edited  by  Confucius  and  his  dis¬ 
ciples,  and  the  religion  in  which  Confucius  himself  is  one 
of  the  principal  objects  of  worship. 

It  is  not  true  even  that  Confucius  taught  only  a  system 
of  ethics.  Even  as  a  child,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  sacrificial  ritual  of  the  national  religion, 
and  the  Analects,  which  report  his  conversations  with  his 
disciples,  give  evidence  of  the  frequency  with  which  he 
urged  the  importance  of  the  li,  that  is  to  say,  the  “rites.” 
The  primary  meaning  of  this  word,  li,  is  “religious  wor¬ 
ship.”  We  are  told  in  the  Analects  that  the  things  about 

249 


250 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


which  he  most  often  spoke  were  the  Odes,  the  Book  of 
History,  and  the  observance  of  the  Rites.  The  Odes,  the 
Book  of  History  and  the  Rites  are  three  of  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Chinese.  It  is  unfortunate  that  one  of  the 
earliest  translations  of  the  Li  Ki,  or  “Record  of  Rites” 
renders  the  title  of  the  work  by  the  words:  “A  Collection 
of  Treaties  on  the  Rules  of  Propriety  or  Ceremonial  Us¬ 
ages.”  Dr.  Legge,  the  translator,  used  the  phrase,  “Rules 
of  Propriety,”  as  the  equivalent  of  li  in  his  translation  of 
the  Analects  of  Confucius  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Li  Ki. 
Now,  not  only  is  the  primary  meaning  of  the  word,  li, 
“religious  worship,”  the  book,  itself,  the  Li  Ki,  which  Dr. 
Legge  calls  “A  Collection  of  Treatises  on  the  Rules  of  Pro¬ 
priety,”  deals  with  religious  rites.  It  describes  those  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  worship  of  God  and  the  worship  of  ancestors, 
the  ceremonies  observed  in  the  capping  of  a  young  man 
when  he  comes  of  age,  and  those  employed  in  the  solem¬ 
nization  of  marriage,  as  well  as  with  the  funeral  rites  and 
the  observances  during  the  period  of  mourning — all  of  a 
deeply  religious  character.  It  treats  also  of  the  ceremonies 
at  Court  and  those  used  in  the  intercourse  of  states,  to¬ 
gether  with  those  of  the  tournament  and  the  banquet;  of 
social  intercourse  among  friends,  as  well  as  those  employed 
in  the  home,  in  the  relations  of  husband  and  wife,  of 
parents  and  children. 

Of  the  forty-six  books  that  make  up  the  present  Li  Ki 
far  more  than  half  have  to  do  with  rites  that  are  of  a  dis¬ 
tinctly  religious  character,  and  the  remainder,  which  deal 
with  social  and  political  functions,  are  none  the  less  of  a 
serious  sort.  The  ancients  did  not  make  such  distinctions 

V 

as  are  common  to-day  between  the  religious  and  the  secular. 
The  ceremonies  attending  social  and  political  functions 
also  had  a  sacred  character.  When  Confucius  said  that 
without  the  li  a  man  had  nothing  upon  which  to  stand,  that 
is,  to  keep  himself  upright,1  he  was  not  referring  to  some 
code  of  etiquette,  mere  rules  of  politeness ;  he  undoubtedly 
had  in  mind  the  whole  body  of  rules  and  ceremonies  which 
regulated  a  man’s  life.  The  collection  which  he  had  in 

i  Analects  XX :  3  and  elsewhere. 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


251 


mind  was  not  identical  with  that  known  to-day  as  the  Li 
Ki,  but  it  was  essentially  the  same,  and  to  characterize  it 
by  such  a  colorless  term  as  “Rule  of  Propriety”  is  as  in¬ 
congruous  as  it  would  be  to  call  the  book  of  Leviticus  a 
treatise  on  dietetics,  because  a  chapter  is  devoted  to  a  de¬ 
scription  of  the  meats  that  may  and  may  not  be  eaten. 

Confucius  on  all  occasions  emphasized  the  importance  of 
filial  piety  and,  when  asked  what  he  meant  by  it,  explained 
it  as  consisting  of  a  devotion  to  living  parents  according 
to  the  Rites,  a  burial  of  them  when  dead  according  to  the 
prescribed  ritual,  and  the  worship  of  them  after  death 
according  to  the  ritual.2  He  spoke  of  himself  as  a  man  of 
prayer:  “I  have  been  praying  for  a  long  time.”  3  It  is  said 
of  him  that  “He  sacrificed  to  the  spirits  as  if  realizing 
their  presence,  ’  ’ 4  and  that  he  did  not  regard  worship  by 
proxy  as  real  worship,  saying:  “If  I  am  not  present  at 
the  sacrifices,  it  is  just  as  though  I  had  not  sacrificed.  ’  ’ 5 
To  Confucius,  too,  is  ascribed  the  statement  in  the  Li  Ki 
that  “The  highest  expression  of  worship  is  shown  in  the 
suburban  sacrifice  to  God,  and  the  highest  expression  of 
human  affection  in  the  offerings  in  the  ancestral  temple.  ’  ’ 6 
In  the  Classic  of  Filial  Piety  we  have  the  teaching  of  Con¬ 
fucius  upon  this  subject  as  transmitted  to  us  by  his  dis¬ 
ciples,  and  we  cannot  read  that  brief  treatise  without  real¬ 
izing  that  the  Master  was  an  earnest  teacher  of  that  which 
is  above  all  else  the  religion  of  the  Chinese — the  honoring 
of  parents  while  they  live  and  worship  of  them  after  their 
death. 


THE  SACRED  BOOKS 


To  know  what  the  Confucian  Religion  is  we  must  study 
its  sacred  books.  These  are  commonly  referred  to  as  the 
“Four  Books”  and  the  “Five  Classics.”  The  Four  Books 
are  (1)  the  Analects,  that  is  to  say  the  sayings  of  Con- 

2  Ibid.,  11:5. 

3  Ibid.,  VII:  34. 

4  Ibid.,  111:12. 

6  Ibid.,  Ill :  12. 

0  Li  Ki,  Book  VIII,  Section  11:18. 


252  Confucianism  in  the  Home 

c- 

fueius  as  collected  by  his  disciples;  (2)  the  Great  Learn¬ 
ing,  a  treatise  written  probably  by  Tseng  Tzn,  a  disciple 
of  Confucius;  (3)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  by  Tzu  Ssu, 
a  grandson  of  the  Sage,  and  (4)  the  works  of  Mencius. 

The  Five  Classics  are  (1)  The  Book  of  Changes,  or  Yi 
King,  used  in  divination;  (2)  The  Shu  King,  or  Book  of 
History;  (3)  the  Collection  of  Poetry,  or  Shih  King;  (4) 
the  Li  Ki,  or  Book  of  Bites,  and  (5)  the  Ch’un  Ch’iu,  or 
Annals. 

Another  arrangement  makes  thirteen  in  all  instead  of 
nine.  This  is  done  by  including  two  other  collections  of 
Annals  and  two  other  collections  of  Rites,  also  an  ancient 
dictionary  and  the  work  known  as  the  Classic  of  Filial 
Piety.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Mean  and  the  Great  Learning 
in  that  case  are  not  counted,  as  they  are  included  in  the 
Book  of  Rites. 

Of  the  Five  Classics,  the  Book  of  Changes  is  a  treatise 
on  the  sixty-four  hexagrams  formed  by  the  permutations 
of  six  whole  and  six  broken  lines.  The  Book  of  Plistory 
contains  fragments  of  ancient  history,  and  may  be  likened 
to  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  Col¬ 
lection  of  Poetry  contains  a  number  of  religious  pieces, 
and  may  be  likened  to  the  Psalms,  although  there  are  none 
of  the  Odes  that  approach  in  lofty  aspiration  the  best  of 
the  psalms.  The  Annals  remind  one  of  the  Books  of 
Chronicles. 

The  Four  Books  belong  to  a  later  age  than  the  Five 
Classics,  and  therefore  may  be  said  to  occupy  in  the  Con- 
fucian  literature  a  place  not  altogether  unlike  that  of  the 
New  Testament  in  our  Bible,  that  is  to  say,  the  Analects 
report  the  discourses  of  Confucius  and  the  other  three 
works  contain  the  teachings  of  the  greatest  of  his  disciples. 
But  one  has  only  to  read  these  books  to  realize  how  unlike 
the  Christian  and  Confucian  Bibles  are,  either  as  literature 
or  as  food  for  the  soul. 

The  Chinese  also  have  their  apocryphal  books.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  Chia  Yu,  or  “Family  Tradi¬ 
tions,  ’  ’  from  which  have  been  derived  much  of  the  informa¬ 
tion  given  by  Ssu-ma  Ch’ien  in  his  Life  of  Confucius.  The 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


253 


sacred  books  of  China  also  have  had  their  lower  and  higher 
critics,  and  their  numerous  commentators.  The  most 
influential  of  the  commentators  was  Chu  Fu  Tzu,  who  lived 
in  the  Twelfth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  was  an 
advocate  of  a  very  materialistic  system  of  philosophy.  His 
views  still  prevail  with  most  Chinese  scholars,  and  are 
chiefly  responsible  for  their  skeptical  attitude  toward  things 
religious. 


PRIVATE  WORHIP 

Confucianism  has  its  private  as  well  as  its  public  worship. 
Of  the  individual  and  the  family  it  requires  the  worship 
of  ancestors  with  definite  rites  at  certain  times,  the  worship 
of  Heaven  and  Earth  on  special  occasions,  and  sometimes 
the  worship  of  Confucius  and  the  canonized  teachers. 

At  the  solemnization  of  marriage  Heaven  and  Earth  are 
called  upon  to  bear  witness  to  the  covenant  by  which,  as 
Confucius  said,  “Two  families  are  united  in  affection  to 
provide  descendants  who  will  keep  up  the  sacrifices  to 
Heaven  and  Earth  and  to  ancestors.”7  A  red  rug  is 
spread  in  the  principal  court  of  the  bride-groom’s  home, 
and  upon  it  the  man  and  the  woman  kneel  together  and 
offer  incense  to  the  dual  powers  of  nature,  Heaven  and 
Earth,  and  prostrate  themselves  in  worship.  On  other 
occasions,  as  the  sacred  books  provide,  they  must  offer 
sacrifice  (1)  to  the  Genius  of  the  Hall,  i.e.,  the  living  room 
of  the  house,  (2)  to  the  God  of  the  Furnace,  i.e.,  the  spirit 
that  presides  over  the  kitchen,  so  important  to  the  health 
of  the  family,  (3)  to  the  God  of  the  Door,  that  is  the 
guardian  against  the  entrance  of  evil  influences,  to-day  rep¬ 
resented  by  the  door-goods,  one  with  a  light  face  who 
watches  over  the  house  in  the  daytime,  and  the  other  with 
a  dark  face  to  protect  it  at  night;  (4)  to  the  God  of  the 
Soil,  i.e.,  the  deity  of  the  locality  in  which  the  home  is 
placed,  and  (5)  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Well,  whose  waters 
are  so  essential  to  health  and  comfort.  The  five  sacrifices 
to  the  spirits  of  the  home  mentioned  in  the  classics  are 

7  Li  Ki  XXIV:  10. 


254 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


probably  these.  But  Confucianists  may,  and  commonly 
do,  worship  many  other  so-called  deities.  The  God  of 
Wealth  is  a  popular  one,  and  the  occupation  of  the  house¬ 
holder  will  probably  lead  him  to  worship  the  saint  who 
presides  over  his  trade.  When  a  young  boy  starts  to  school 
he  must  learn  to  bow  to  the  tablet  of  Confucius.  Under 
the  old  regime,  if  he  prepared  to  enter  the  examinations 
for  the  Civil  Service,  he  would  worship  the  God  of  Liter¬ 
ature,  or,  if  he  competed  in  the  military  examinations,  he 
would  make  offerings  to  Kuan  Wu  Ti,  the  God  of  War, 
or  to  To  Fei,  one  of  the  canonized  warriors  of  China. 

But  the  religion,  which  above  everything  else  is  the  re¬ 
ligion  of  the  family,  sacred  and  authoritative,  is  the  religion 
of  Filial  Piety,  the  service  of  living  parents  and  the  worship 
of  dead  ancestors.  The  worship  of  the  dead  begins  immedi¬ 
ately  after  the  decease.  For  the  first  seven  weeks,  as  a 
rule,  the  services  are  continuous  and  very  elaborate,  but  the 
customs  vary  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  vary 
also  according  to  the  wealth  or  poverty  of  the  family  and 
according  to  its  social  standing.  The  worship  consists  of 
prostrations  and  prayers,  the  lighting  of  candles  and  burn¬ 
ing  of  incense  together  with  offerings  of  food  and  of  spirit¬ 
uous  liquors,  and  the  burning  of  paper  images  of  servants, 
of  domestic  animals,  clothing,  furniture  and  money.  An¬ 
ciently  wives  and  concubines,  men  and  women  servants, 
horses  and  other  animals,  themselves,  and  not  their  images, 
were  actually  buried  with  the  dead.  Clothing  and  food 
were  put  in  the  tomb,  together  with  jewelry  and  other 
articles  of  great  value.  In  some  instances  the  home,  or  a 
part  of  it,  appears  to  have  been  abandoned  and  set  aside 
for  the  worship  of  the  dead. 

Indeed  some  of  these  practices  have  continued  to  recent 
times.  At  several  imperial  funerals  in  the  reign  of  the 
Ming  Dynasty  (A.D.  1368-1644)  ;  and  at  the  burial  of  one 
of  the  wives  of  the  Emperor  Shunchih  of  the  Manchu 
Dynasty,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  living  men  and  women, 
servants  and  concubines  of  the  dead,  were  buried  with  them. 
When  the  great  Viceroy,  Li  Hung  Chang,  died  in  1901, 
his  home  in  Peking  was  entirely  abandoned  after  the 


Confucianism  in  the  Home  255 

funeral  services,  and  was  converted  into  a  temple  where  his 
spirit  is  worshiped  to  this  day. 

During  the  period  devoted  to  the  funeral  services  in  the 
home,  there  are  morning  and  evening  sacrifices  before  the 
coffin,  which  may  be  considered  as  a  continuation  of  the 
service  due  the  master  or  mistress  of  the  household  while 
they  were  still  living.  They  still  partake  of  the  meals  of 
the  family.  When  the  time  for  the  interment  arrives  offer¬ 
ings  of  food  and  drink,  libations  of  liquor,  and  the  burning 
of  incense  and  of  paper  images  accompany  the  coffin.  There 
are  often  repeated  pauses  of  the  funeral  procession,  dur¬ 
ing  which  offerings  are  made  along  the  route  to  the  grave, 
and  a  sacrificial  meal  is  set  out  at  the  tomb  after  burial. 
By  a  special  service  at  the  grave  the  soul  of  the  dead  is 
believed  to  be  induced  to  attach  itself  to  the  spirit  tablet, 
by  which  it  is  conveyed  back  to  the  home.  The  tablet  is 
placed  in  the  principal  hall,  and  sacrifice  is  then  offered 
again  for  the  repose  of  the  soul.  The  ancient  rule  was 
that  the  tablet  should  be  conveyed  the  next  day  to  the 
ancestral  temple,  if  there  was  such  a  building,  and  sacrifice 
offered  again. 

Special  sacrifices  are  offered  at  the  first  and  second  an¬ 
niversaries  of  the  death  of  parents,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
mourning  period.  The  tablet  is  a  piece  of  wood  about 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  long  and  two  or  three  inches  wide, 
upon  which  are  inscribed  the  posthumous  name  of  the  dead 
and  his  titles,  if  he  should  have  any.  The  eldest  member 
of  the  oldest  generation  is  usually  the  priest  of  the  family, 
and  will  see  that  the  worship  of  the  ancestors  is  properly 
observed,  but  all  members  of  the  family  may,  and  com¬ 
monly  do,  participate  in  the  worship.  It  is  considered  very 
important  that  the  representative  of  the  family  shall  have 
a  wife  to  take  part  in  the  worship.  If  there  is  no  ancestral 
temple  the  tablet  is  kept  on  the  family  altar  in  the  home. 
This  is  usually  the  main  hall  of  the  house,  but  sometimes 
there  is  a  room  set  aside  as  a  chapel,  or  shrine,  in  which 
the  tablets  and  sacrificial  vessels  are  kept. 


256 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


ANCESTRAL  TEMPLES 

Some  wealthy  families  maintain  an  ancestral  temple, 
surrounded  by  a  sacred  field  whose  produce  is  used  to  sup¬ 
port  the  service.  Others  have  the  temple  without  the  field. 
In  some  instances  there  is  a  temple  erected  in  the  family, 
or  clan,  cemetery.  The  spirit  tablets  of  deceased  ancestors 
of  many  generations  are  kept  in  these  temples,  arranged 
on  shelves  in  the  form  of  steps.  All  ancestors  of  the  same 
generation  are  placed  on  the  same  step,  or  shelf,  the  lowest 
shelf  being  occupied  by  those  of  the  latest  generation  that 
has  passed  away,  that  is  to  say,  by  the  tablets  of  those 
most  nearly  related  to  the  living.  The  very  poor  have  a 
little  shrine  on  a  shelf  in  the  principal  room  of  the  home. 
Even  the  boatmen,  whose  families  live  with  them  on  their 
boats,  have  a  shrine  in  the  cabin.  Some  families  place  their 
tablets  on  the  altar  of  a  Buddhist  or  Taoist  shrine  and  pay 
their  worship  there.  The  ancestral  temples  of  the  nobles 
and  of  the  imperial  family  are  very  imposing.  The  T’ai 
Miao  in  Peking,  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  ancestors  of 
the  Manchu  Emperors,  is  located  just  outside  the  South  Gate 
of  the  Forbidden  City,  in  a  grove  of  cypress  trees.  There 
are  also  beautiful  temples  in  the  imperial  cemeteries  known 
as  the  Eastern  and  Western  Tombs.  In  the  latter  the  great 
sacrificial  hall  of  the  temple  at  the  tomb  of  Yungcheng,  in 
the  arrangement  of  its  furniture  and  in  its  services,  is  not 
unlike  the  Holy  Place  of  the  Jewish  Temple.  On  a  marble 
terrace  which  rises  five  or  six  feet  above  the  pavement  of 
the  court  an  oblong  hall  is  built.  Its  brick  walls  are  cov¬ 
ered  with  vermilion  stucco.  The  roof  is  of  glazed  tiles 
of  golden  color,  supported  by  bracket  cornices  decorated  in 
the  five  colors.  This  hall  is  about  150  feet  long  east  and 
west  by  75  feet  north  and  south.  The  entrance  is  on  the 
south  side.  The  floor  in  the  interior  is  of  grey  tile;  the 
ceiling  is  made  of  panels  of  dark  green,  relieved  by  lines 
of  black,  white  and  red  surrounding  the  double  dragon  in 
gold.  Great  pillars  of  teak  covered  with  red  lacquer  and 
gold  support  the  heavy  beams.  The  windows  are  covered 


Confucianism  in  the  Home  257 

with  red  lattices  delicately  carved.  As  yon  enter  you  see 
upon  the  threshold  the  altar  of  incense.  In  the  middle  of 
the  chamber  is  a  table  spread  with  shew-bread,  which  is 
changed  every  new  moon  and  every  full  moon.  On  the 
north  side  is  an  altar  for  the  offerings  of  fruit,  vegetables 
and  wine.  Before  it  are  trusses  upon  which,  at  the  new 
moon  and  full  moon,  there  are  placed  the  bodies  of  slain 
beasts;  oxen,  sheep  and  swine.  Behind  the  altar  are  two 
throne  chairs,  in  which  at  the  time  of  sacrifice  the  tablets 
of  the  dead  emperor  and  his  consort  are  placed.  These 
chairs  are  placed  just  in  front  of  a  richly  embroidered  cur¬ 
tain,  which  separates  this  holy  place  from  a  dark  chamber 
behind  it.  In  it  is  kept  the  spirit  tablet,  which  is  brought 
out  only  at  the  time  of  sacrifice.  I  was  not  allowed  to 
enter  this  dark  chamber,  but  at  the  time  when  the  American 
army  handed  back  the  Forbidden  City  to  the  Chinese  Gov¬ 
ernment,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  a  member  of  the 
committee  appointed  to  inspect  the  T’ai  Miao,  or  Temple 
of  Imperial  Ancestors  in  Peking,  to  see  that  all  was  in 
order.  On  that  occasion  we  entered  the  dark  chamber,  which 
corresponds  to  the  Most  Holy  Place,  and  found  on  the  right 
side  an  ark,  or  box,  overlaid  with  gold  lacquer,  in  which, 
wrapped  in  cloth  of  gold,  were  ten  tables  of  stone.  These 
were  of  green  jade,  engraved  upon  which  in  deeply  incised 
characters  of  gold  was  a  eulogy  of  the  dead  monarch  to 
which  this  chapel  belonged.  At  the  northern  end  of  the 
chamber  was  a  gilded  shrine  before  which  there  hung  a 
curtain  of  cloth  of  gold,  and  behind  it  in  the  shrine  was 
the  spirit  tablet.  It  also  was  gilded,  and  upon  it  was  the 
posthumous  name  of  the  dead  monarch.  The  great  build¬ 
ing  in  which  this  chamber  was  found  was  divided  by  par¬ 
titions  into  chapels,  all  opening  into  a  corridor  which  ex¬ 
tended  east  and  west  along  the  south  side  of  the  building. 
Each  chapel  contained,  next  to  the  corridor,  a  chamber  or 
“holy  place”  furnished  with  an  altar  of  incense  and  with 
the  flag  and  official  umbrella  of  the  dead  monarch,  and 
behind  this  chamber,  on  the  north  side,  the  dark  chamber 
which  I  have  just  described. 

The  great  sacrificial  hall  at  this  temple  is  a  separate 


258 


Confucianism  in  the  Home 


building,  south  of  that  just  described,  and  facing  the  main 
entrance,  which  is  an  imposing  gate-way  on  the  south  side 
of  the  inclosure.  On  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  spacious 
court,  in  front  of  the  sacrificial  hall,  are  chapels  dedicated 
to  the  great  statesmen  and  warriors  of  the  dynasty. 

These  arrangements,  of  course,  are  much  more  elaborate 
than  those  allowed  to  the  common  people.  The  sumptuary 
laws  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  prescribed  very  carefully  the 
dress  and  architecture,  and  the  ceremonies  to  be  employed 
by  the  various  classes  of  subjects.  The  Li  Ki,  too,  defined 
the  rites  of  the  Royal  Temple  and  those  allowed  in  the 
worship  of  ancestors  to  the  several  ranks  of  the  nobility, 
and  to  the  common  people.  Confucius  blamed  the  princes 
of  his  day  very  severely  for  their  usurpation  of  parapher¬ 
nalia  and  ceremonies  reserved  for  the  King. 

Very  religious  families  will  make  offerings  of  incense  and 
food  every  day,  others  at  the  new  moon  and  full  moon. 
Anciently  there  was  a  special  service  at  the  first  new  moon 
of  each  quarter  and  at  the  end  of  the  calendar  year.  There 
were  also  offerings  of  first  fruits.  Those  who  adhere  strictly 
to  the  rites  as  prescribed  in  the  sacred  books  no  doubt  still 
observe  these  ancient  customs.  The  most  important  ser¬ 
vices  to-day  in  this  worship  of  ancestors  are  the  sacrifices 
at  the  grave  in  the  spring  during  the  period  known  as  the 
CK’ing  Ming ,  and  those  in  the  home  or  ancestral  temple 
at  the  winter  solstice. 

RITES  AT  THE  GRAVE 

The  Cln’ing  Ming  is  one  of  the  twenty-four  solar  periods 
into  which  the  year  is  divided  by  the  Chinese,  and  extends 
from  the  1st  to  the  15th  of  the  Third  Moon  of  the  lunar 
calendar.  The  period  falls,  therefore,  between  the  last 
week  in  March  and  the  middle  of  April,  just  about  the 
time  of  our  Eastertide.  The  origin  of  this  annual  sacrifice 
at  the  grave  is  unknown.  The  ancients  apparently  seldom 
made  offerings  at  the  grave  after  the  burial  rites  had  been 
completed.  One  looks  in  vain  through  the  Li  Ki  and  other 
ancient  works  for  any  regulations  touching  this  subject. 


Confucianism  in  the  Home  259 

There  are  abundant  references  to  sacrifices  in  the  ancestral 
temple  and  some  notices  of  sacrifices  at  the  tomb  at  the 
time  of  burial,  but  the  only  reference  I  have  found  to  offer¬ 
ings  at  the  grave  at  stated  periods  after  burial  is  one  in 
which  Confucius  explains  that  in  the  absence  of  the  eldest 
son  by  the  principal  wife,  his  brother  by  a  concubine  may 
offer  the  sacrifices  and  that,  in  such  a  case,  the  brother  will 
erect  an  altar  at  the  grave  and  make  the  offerings  there 
at  the  proper  seasons.8 

A  passage  in  the  Chou  Li  states  that  at  all  sacrifices  at 
the  grave  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  graves  serves  as  im¬ 
personator  of  the  dead,9  but  there  is  nothing  to  indicate 
that  such  sacrifices  were  made  at  any  time  except,  to  the 
god  of  the  locality  when  the  grave  was  marked  out,  and, 
at  the  time  of  interment,  to  the  dead.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  why  Confucius  is  represented  as  teaching  that 
a  younger  son  by  a  concubine,  representing  the  heii  at  a 
sacrifice,  should  make  the  sacrifice  at  the  grave  rather  than 
at  the  home. 

But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  early  ages  sacri¬ 
fices  at  the  grave  were  rare,  for  when  the  mother  of  Con¬ 
fucius  died  and  he  desired  to  bury  her  in  the  same  grave 
with  his  father,  as  I  have  already  said,  he  had  to  make 
enquiry  of  others  to  learn  where  his  father’s  grave  was 
located.10  His  father  had  died  when  Confucius  was  an 
infant.  But,  if  annual  sacrifices  at  the  grave  were  custom¬ 
ary,  he  could  not  have  escaped  knowing  where  his  father 
was  buried,  for  although  he  had  an  elder  brother  it  would 
have  been  his  duty  to  be  present  at  the  worship.  He  was 
already  twenty-two  years  of  age  when  his  mother  died.  At¬ 
tempts  have  been  made  to  throw  doubt  on  the  genuineness 
of  this  passage  of  the  Li  Ki,  but  the  very  fact  that  it  shocks 
a  Chinese  to  read  the  statement  is  evidence  of  its  genu¬ 
ineness.  Worshipers  of  Confucius  would  not  have  in¬ 
vented  it. 

Sacrifice  at  the  tomb,  after  the  burial  rites  were  com- 

8  Li  Ki  V:2. 

s  Chou  Li  V:  eh'un  kuan  18. 

10  Li  Ki  II,  Sect.  1:10. 


260  Confucianism  in  the  Home 

pleted,  could  not  have  been  altogether  unknown,  even  in 
the  days  of  Confucius,  for  the  disciples  built  a  hut  along¬ 
side  his  grave  and  worshiped  him  there,  some  of  them  for 
three  years,  and  one  for  six  years.  Ancient  emperors  came 
long  distances  to  worship  there.  Mencius,  too,  relates  a 
story  of  a  shiftless  man  who  boasted  to  his  wife  and  con¬ 
cubine  of  his  frequent  dinings  with  great  people,  which 
they  discovered  to  be  eating  of  the  offerings  made  by  these 
great  families  upon  the  graves  of  their  kindred.11  It  is 
true,  however,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  account  to  show 
that  these  may  not  have  been  offerings  made  at  the  time 
of  interment. 

The  lack  in  classical  times  of  any  definite  ritual  for  sac¬ 
rifice  at  the  grave  may  have  been  due  to  the  prevailing 
philosophy  of  that  period,  which  considered  man  to  be  a 
duad,  composed  of  an  intelligent  spirit  which  survives  the 
body  and  ascends  on  high,  which  is  called  the  shen,  and 
an  animal  soul  called  the  kuei,  which  goes  into  the  grave 
with  the  body  and  perishes.  This  is  the  explanation  as¬ 
cribed  to  Confucius  in  the  Li  Ki.12.  Having  such  a  faith, 
it  would  be  natural  to  pay  attention  chiefly  to  the  shen , 
which  was  supposed  to  attach  itself  to  the  tablet,  and  which 
was  worshiped  in  the  home  or  in  the  ancestral  temple. 
In  later  ages  a  new  philosophy  became  prevalent,  which  is 
still  held  by  most  Chinese.  Man,  according  to  this  philos¬ 
ophy,  has  three  hun,  or  spirits,  and  seven  po,  or  animal 
souls.  The  seven  po  gradually  evaporate  into  nothingness 
after  death,  but  the  three  hun  survive,  and  it  is  a  popular 
belief  that  one  remains  with  the  body  in  the  grave,  one 
is  installed  with  the  tablet  on  the  ancestral  altar,  and  the 
third  goes  to  the  realms  of  the  dead,  or  Hades.  With  such 
a  belief  there  would,  of  course,  be  developed  a  more  definite 
practice  for  worship  at  the  grave. 

However,  this  may  be  the  worship  at  the  grave  during 
the  Ch’ing  Ming  Festival,  which  has  already  been  de¬ 
scribed,  has  become  an  established  practice  regarded  as  of 
great  importance.  Within  the  two  weeks  known  as  Ch’ing 

11  Mencius,  Li  Lou  11:33. 

12  Li  Ki  XXI,  Sect.  11:1. 


APPROACH  TO  A  PRINCE’S  FAMILY  CEMETERY. 


S£ 


BURIAL  PIT,  TEMPLE  TO  THE  EARTH. 


Confucianism  in  the  Home  261 

Ming,  when  all  nature  is  reviving  from  the  long,  cold  sleep 
of  winter,  you  may  see  groups  of  Chinese,  carrying  baskets 
filled  with  offerings,  wending  their  way  to  the  open  country 
to  visit  the  family  burying  ground.  There  they  carefully 
gather  up  the  dead  leaves  and  branches  and  repair  the 
grave  mounds.  When  all  is  in  order  they  set  out,  either 
upon  the  ground  or,  more  properly,  upon  an  altar  of  earth 
or  stone,  a  food  and  drink  offering.  This  is  sometimes  a 
very  elaborate  feast  of  rice,  with  fish,  fowl,  and  pork  and 
cups  of  spirituous  liquors.  The  drink  offering  is  of  spirits 
distilled  from  rice  or  millet.  There  may  be  also  burnt  offer¬ 
ings  of  paper  imitation  money.  The  dead  are  not  believed 
to  partake  of  anything  but  the  ethereal  essence  of  the 
offerings.  There  are  prayers,  too,  sometimes  written  and 
burned,  in  which  the  spirits  of  the  dear  departed  are  asked 
to  bestow  their  blessing  upon  the  living  and  give  the  family 
their  guardian  care.  There  is  also  in  the  worship  a  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  debt  of  the  living  to  the  dead,  to  whom  they 
owe  all  the  blessings  of  life. 

WORSHIP  AT  WINTER  SOLSTICE 

Still  more  important  is  the  service  in  the  home  or  ances¬ 
tral  temple  at  the  winter  solstice,  also  mentioned  in  another 
chapter.  Once  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  invited  to 
attend  such  a  service.  The  table  spread  in  the  principal 
room  of  the  home  was  loaded  with  steaming  viands.  Two 
chairs,  one  for  the.  departed  grandsire  and  one  for  the 
sainted  grandmother,  were  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
table.  The  family  gathered  reverently  on  the  south  side 
while  the  head  of  the  household,  himself  well  advanced 
in  years,  reverently  knelt  and  worshiped  the  spirits  of 
the  dead.  It  was  not  an  occasion  of  sadness,  but  rather 
a  joyful  festival,  celebrating  the  return  of  the  absent  living 
from  distant  regions  and  of  the  absent  dead  from  the  spirit 
world. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

All  this  is  worship,  it  is  true,  and  as  a  rule  the  mission¬ 
aries,  both  Catholic  and  Protestant,  frown  upon  it  as  being 


262  Confucianism  in  the  Home 

idolatrous.  They  do  not  permit  Chinese  Christians  to  par¬ 
ticipate  in  it.  In  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  of  course, 
it  is  not  “idolatrous”  for  there  is  no  image  used  at  the 
grave,  and  in  the  temple  worship  is  offered  before  the  spirit 
tablet.  Ancestor  worship  is  a  religion  that  was  once  com¬ 
mon  among  nearly  all  races.  The  sentiment  which  prompts 
men  to  care  for  the  graves  of  their  dead  and  to  seek  com¬ 
munion  with  them  is  one  which  all  must  respect.  The 
human  heart  is  everywhere  the  same.  We  yearn  for  the 
society  of  those  whom  we  have  known  and  loved  and  who 
have  gone  from  this  life.  All  peoples,  too,  have  memorial 
services  in  honor  of  the  dead,  and  that  is  the  essence  of 
the  Chinese  worship  of  their  ancestors. 

One  of  the  objections  to  the  worship  of  the  dead  is  the 
effect  seen  in  the  ultra  conservatism  which  it  cultivates. 
Extravagant  respect  for  the  teaching  and  practices  of  dead 
ancestors  makes  progress  very  difficult.  The  dead  hand 
rests  heavily  upon  the  living  and  restrains  all  movement 
toward  change,  even  though  it  be  toward  a  betterment  of 
conditions.  The  Chinese  undoubtedly  over-emphasize  the 
duty  of  reverence  for  the  dead.  They  stand  with  their 
faces  to  the  past,  and  follow  too  much  the  precedents  of 
those  who  have  gone  on  before.  Confucius  said  that  the 
man  who,  for  three  years  after  his  father’s  death,  does 
not  change  from  his  father’s  ways  may  be  counted  truly 
filial.13 

We  should  profit  by  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  the 
past,  but  we  ought  to  make  these  stepping  stones  to  higher 
levels  in  the  future.  We  ought  to  be  better  than  our 
fathers.  To-day  there  is  a  movement  among  the  young 
in  China  away  from  the  restraints  of  the  past.  Some  are 
going  too  far,  and  abandoning  the  good  as  well  as  the  evil 
of  old  customs.  But  there  will  come  a  reaction,  and  in  the 
end,  no  doubt,  the  Chinese  will  find  the  chung  yung,  or 
the  “middle  path.” 


is  Analects  1:11. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  PLAN  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  HEAVEN. 

A=The  Hsi  Tien  Men, 

B=The  Wai  Yiian  Hsi  Men, 

C— The  Ning  Hsi  Tien,  or  Hall  for  the  rehearsal  of  the  ceremonies,  particularly  by 
the  postarers  and  musicians. 

D=The  Nei  Hsi  Tien  Men,  the  usual  entrance  into  the  northern  section  of  the 
Inner  Court. 

E=The  Kuang  Li  Men,  the  Emperor’s  gate  of  exit  from  the  southern  section  of  the 
Inner  Court. 

F=The  Hall  of  Fasting. 

G=The  Chao  Heng  Men,  principal  entrance  to  the  southern  section  of  the  Inner 
Court. 

H=The  Wai  Wei  Men,  the  southern  gate  to  the  outer  or  square  court  of  the  Altar. 

I=The  Nei  Wei  Men,  the  southern  gate  to  the  inner  or  circular  court  of  the  Altar. 

J=The  Treasury. 

K=The  Slaughter  House. 

L=Tbe  Huang  Ch'iung  YU. 

M=The  Ch‘i  Nien  Tien 

N=The  Huang  Chien  Tien. 

a  a  a=The  division  wall  between  the  northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  Inner 
Court. 

b  b  b=The  wall  of  the  Inner  Court. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


CONFUCIANISM  AS  A  STATE  RELIGION 

The  sacrifice  to  God  in  the  suburbs  is  the  highest  act  of  worship. — 
Li  Ki. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  Confucianism  has  been  dis¬ 
cussed  as  the  religion  of  the  individual  and  the  family; 
in  this  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  consider  it  as  once  the 
established  religion  of  the  State.  Under  the  republic  to¬ 
day  there  is  no  established  religion,  but  under  the  Manchu 
Dynasty  and  for  many  centuries  before  that  period  Con¬ 
fucianism  was  the  state  religion.  Buddhism  and  Taoism 
were  subsidized,  but  the  official  religion  was  Confucianism. 
Although  its  disestablishment  makes  it  politically  of  less 
importance  to-day  than  formerly,  to  one  who  is  concerned 
with  the  comparative  study  of  religions  it  can  never  cease 
to  be  of  interest.  Its  hoary  antiquity,  alone,  gives  it  a 
claim  upon  the  attention  of  such  a  student.1  The  facts  here 
presented  have  been  obtained  by  a  study  of  the  Chinese 
texts  of  the  classics,  particularly  portions  of  the  Shu  King, 
certain  odes  of  the  Shih  King,  and  the  teachings  of  the  Li 
Ki,  which  is  the  Chinese  Leviticus,  and  texts  also  of  those 
chapters  of  the  Ta  Ch’ing  Hui  Tien,  or  “Fundamental 
Statutes  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty,”  and  those  of  the  Ta 
Ch’ing  Lii  Li,  or  “Penal  Code  of  the  Manchus,”  which 
deal  with  the  subject.  The  Manual  of  the  Ministry  of  Rites 
has  also  been  examined,  and  has  furnished  details  of  the 
modern  ritual.  To  these  sources  of  information  the  author 
may  be  permitted  to  add  his  personal  inspection  of  the 

i  In  the  Journal  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society 
for  1913  the  author  published  a  paper  upon  the  1 1  State  Religion 
of  China  during  the  Manchu  Dunasty,  ”  which  contains  much  of  tho 
information  given  in  this  chapter.  The  whole  subject,  however,  is 
here  given  fresh  treatment. 


203 


264 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


temples  and  the  paraphernalia  of  worship,  measurements 
and  photographs  taken  on  the  ground,  attendance  upon  the 
services  in  the  Confucian  temple,  and  visits  to  some  of  the 
State  Altars  at  Peking  immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
worship,  while  the  vessels  of  sacrifice  and  other  parapher¬ 
nalia  were  still  in  place. 

THE  STATE  RELIGION 

Confucianism  has  no  order  of  priesthood,  that  is  to  say, 
there  is  no  body  of  officials  set  apart  from  secular  life, 
devoted  solely  to  the  performance  of  religious  functions. 
The  Emperor,  in  the  days  of  the  empire,  was  the  head  of 
the  State,  and  officiated  as  the  High  Priest  of  his  people 
at  the  most  important  sacrifices.  Every  civil  and  military 
officer  of  the  government  had  duties  to  perform  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  state  worship.  In  the  provinces  the  principal 
civil  official  of  the  district  presided  over  the  services  at 
the  local  altars  and  temples.  His  subordinates  assisted, 
and  at  the  worship  of  Confucius  all  the  scholars  of  the 
district,  who  had  received  degrees,  were  expected  to  par¬ 
ticipate.  There  was,  however,  a  Board  of  Rites  at  Peking, 
charged  with  general  oversight  of  religion  and  education, 
and  there  were  also  a  Court  of  Sacrificial  Worship  and  a 
Board  of  Music,  which  were  responsible  for  the  details 
of  the  worship.  The  Imperial  College  of  Astronomy,  too, 
as  will  be  seen  later,  had  important  functions  to  discharge 
in  connection  with  the  religious  services. 

THE  BEINGS  WORSHIPED 

The  ritual  of  the  late  dynasty  divided  the  objects  of  wor¬ 
ship  into  three  classes.  In  the  first  rank  were  placed  (1) 
the  Supreme  God,  Shang  Ti,  (2)  Imperial  Earth,  (3)  the 
ancestors  of  the  Emperor,  and  (4)  the  Guardian  Spirits  of 
the  Soil  and  the  Harvests.  To  these  in  1907  the  Sage 
Confucius  was  added,  as  has  already  been  stated.  Previ¬ 
ously  he  had  been  placed  in  the  second  class. 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  265 

In  the  second  rank,  besides  Confucius — later  included 
in  the  first  class — there  were  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  Emperors 
and  kings  of  preceding  dynasties,  the  patron  saint  of  Agri¬ 
culture,  the  patroness  of  Sericulture,  the  Spirits  of  Heaven, 
the  Spirits  of  Earth,  and  the  Year  Star — that  is  to  say  the 
planet  Jupiter,  by  whose  revolutions  around  the  sun  the 
Chinese  lunar  calendar  was  regulated. 

In  the  third  rank  of  the  pantheon  were  placed  the  patron 
saint  of  Medicine,  the  God  of  War,  the  God  of  Literature, 
the  North  Star,  the  Eastern  Peak,  the  tutelary  deity  of 
Peking,  the  God  of  Fire,  the  dragon  of  the  Black  Dragon 
Pool  (near  Peking),  the  dragon  of  the  Jade  Fountain 
(near  the  Summer  Palace)  and  that  of  the  Summer  Pal¬ 
ace  Lake,  the  God  of  Artillery,  the  God  of  the  Soil,  the 
patron  of  Mechanic  Arts,  the  God  of  the  Furnace,  the  God 
of  the  Granary,  the  door  gods,  and  a  host  of  canonized 
patriots  whose  number  has  increased  from  generation  to 
generation. 


LOCATION  OF  TEMPLES  AND  ALTARS 

The  most  important  altars  and  temples  are,  of  course, 
located  at  the  capital.  Peking  is  composed  of  four  walled 
cities.  Its  heart  is  the  Forbidden  City,  one  mile  square, 
within  which  the  principal  imperial  palace  is  situated. 
This  is  surrounded  by  a  grey  brick  wall  with  a  crenellated 
parapet.  The  wall  is  about  forty  feet  high  and  forty  feet 
thick.  It  is  protected  by  a  moat  which  is  some  forty  feet 
in  width.  All  important  buildings  in  China,  for  geomantic 
reasons,  face  the  south.  As  one  comes  out  of  the  South 
Gate  of  the  Forbidden  City  he  finds  himself  in  the  Purple, 
or  Imperial  City,  two  miles  square  and  surrounded  by  a 
purple  wall.  On  his  left,  the  side  of  honor — the  eastern 
side — is  a  grove  of  dark  cypresses,  within  which  is  located 
the  T’ai  Miao,  or  Temple  of  Imperial  Ancestors.  On  the 
west,  i.e.,  the  right  side,  he  would  have  found  in  the  old 
days  a  court  enclosing  the  Altar  to  the  Guardian  Spirits 
of  the  Soil  and  the  Harvests.  This,  with  adjoining  courts, 
has  been  converted  into  the  Central  Park  by  the  Republic, 


266  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

and  some  of  the  buildings  are  used  for  a  National  Museum. 
Still  moving  south  the  observer  will  pass  out  of  the  South 
Gate  of  the  Imperial  City  into  the  capital  proper,  known 
as  the  Tartar  City.  Through  the  great  Ch’ien  Men,  the 
principal  gate  on  the  south  side  of  this  city,  the  visitor 
passes  into  the  southern  suburb,  known  as  the  Chinese  City. 
This  formerly  had  no  wall,  but  is  now  surrounded  by  a 
wall  ten  miles  in  circuit  and  about  twenty-five  feet  wide 
and  twenty-five  feet  high.  On  the  left,  in  the  south-eastern 
portion  of  this  city,  is  a  great  enclosure  containing  737 
acres,  which  is  the  Temple  of  Heaven  where  Shang  Ti,  the 
Most  High,  was  worshiped.  On  the  right,  in  the  south¬ 
western  part  of  this  suburb,  is  the  Temple  of  Agriculture 
with  the  Field  of  God,  an  enclosure  somewhat  smaller  than 
the  Temple  of  Heaven.  These  two  enclosures  are  separated 
by  a  wide  plaza. 

North  of  the  Tartar  City  is  placed  the  Temple  of  Earth. 
In  the  Eastern  Suburb  is  the  Temple  to  the  Sun,  and  in 
the  Western  the  Temple  to  the  Moon.  The  Peking  temple 
to  Confucius  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Tartar  City, 
the  temple  to  the  tutelary  deity  of  Peking  in  its  western 
section.  The  temple  to  the  Eastern  Peak  is  in  the  Eastern 
Suburb  near  the  Temple  to  the  Sun.  In  every  county  there 
is,  or  should  be,  a  temple  to  Confucius  and  an  altar  to 
the  Guardian  Spirits  of  the  Soil  and  Harvests.  Temples 
to  canonized  patriots  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 


TIMES  OF  WORSHIP 

Under  the  Manchu  regime  the  method  of  selecting  the 
date  upon  which  these  various  deities  and  saints  were 
to  be  worshiped  was  a  very  elaborate  one.  Two  years  in 
advance,  in  the  Tenth  Moon,  the  lucky  days  of  the  year 
under  consideration  were  to  be  determined  by  the  Imperial 
College  of  Astronomy,  which  resorted  to  divination  for  this 
purpose.  From  this  list  of  lucky  days  a  date  was  chosen 
for  each  sacrifice  to  be  offered,  and  these  dates  were  sub¬ 
mitted  for  approval  to  the  Ministry  of  Rites.  The  Ministry 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  267 

of  Rites  directed  the  Court  of  Sacrificial  Worship  to  report 
upon  the  appropriateness  or  otherwise  of  the  dates  pro¬ 
posed.  In  the  First  Moon  of  the  following  year,  that  is  to 
say  one  year  in  advance  of  that  in  which  the  sacrifices  were 
to  be  offered,  this  religious  calendar,  after  such  revision  as 
had  been  found  necessary,  was  copied  out  on  yellow  paper 
and  submitted  to  the  Throne  for  approval.  This  was 
given  in  an  edict,  which  directed  the  Court  of  Sacrifical 
Worship  to  proceed  according  to  the  proposed  calendar, 
and  also  to  memorialize  the  Throne  in  advance  of  each  sac¬ 
rifice,  so  that  sufficient  time  might  be  given  to  the  necessary 
preparations. 

The  calendar  was  then  printed  by  the  Ministry  of  Rites, 
and  a  copy  sent  to  each  and  every  civil  and  military  officer 
in  the  empire,  a  corrected  list  of  these  being  supplied  by 
the  Ministry  of  Civil  Office  and  the  Ministry  of  War.  Thus 
these  officers  were  fully  notified,  nearly  a  year  in  advance, 
of  the  date  of  every  state  sacrifice,  and  could  govern  them¬ 
selves  accordingly. 

The  season  at  which  the  most  important  sacrifices  were 
to  be  offered  was  fixed  by  age-old  custom.  The  Most  High 
was  to  be  worshiped  at  the  Winter  Solstice,  the  Imperial 
Earth  at  the  Summer  Solstice,  Confucius  at  the  Spring 
and  Autumn  Equinoxes,  but  the  exact  dates  of  these  in 
any  particular  lunar  year  had  to  be  calculated  by  the  Col¬ 
lege  of  Astronomy.  Prayer  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven  was 
to  be  made  at  the  covered  altar  in  the  first  moon  of  the 
year,  on  a  day  whose  cyclical  representation  contained  a 
specified  character.  The  Guardian  Spirits  of  the  Soil  and 
Harvests  were  worshiped  in  the  midmonth  of  spring  and 
the  midmonth  of  autumn,  on  days  determined  in  a  similar 
manner. 


MANNER  OF  WORSHIP 

Worship  consisted  in  bathing,  fasting,  prostrations, 
prayers  and  thanksgiving,  offerings  of  incense,  lighted 
candles,  gems  and  silk,  fruits,  cooked  meats,  salted  vege¬ 
tables  and  shew-bread,  libations  of  wine  and  sacrifices  of 


268 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


whole  oxen,  sheep  and  swine — sometimes  of  deer  and  other 
game — and  on  certain  occasions  the  burnt  offering  of  a 
young  bullock.  The  presentation  of  the  offerings  was  ac¬ 
companied  by  instrumental  music  and  posturing,  or  danc¬ 
ing,  sometimes  also  by  chanting. 

All  sacrifices  to  deities  of  the  first  grade,  under  the 
Manchu  rule,  were  preceded  by  three  days  of  fasting ;  those 
of  the  second  grade  by  two  days’  fast.  Due  notice  of  the 
fast  was  given  in  all  yamens  by  closing  the  middle  door 
of  the  triple  gate-way  opening  into  the  yamen  court-yard 
and  the  corresponding  door  of  the  main  hall.  A  warning 
notice  on  a  red  tablet  was  placed  on  a  table  before  the 
closed  gate,  and  a  second,  on  a  yellow  tablet  with  an  inlaid 
border  of  dragons,  was  put  on  another  table  in  front  of 
the  hall. 

When  the  fast  was  preparatory  to  the  solemn  sacrifice 
to  the  Most  High  at  the  winter  solstice,  it  was  announced 
by  the  Emperor  in  an  edict,  such  as  the  following : 

On  the  -  day  of  the - Moon  of  the  -  year  of  - , 

being  the  Winter  Solstice,  WE  shall  reverently  sacrifice  to  the 
Great  Ruler  of  Imperial  Heaven  at  the  Altar  to  Heaven,  in 
behalf  of  you,  Our  people. 

The  purity  of  the  Ministers  depends  upon  their  hearts,  their 
righteousness  upon  the  determination  of  each  to  exalt  his  office 
lest,  by  neglect  of  his  duties  calamity  be  brought  upon  the  State. 
Be  reverent.  Let  there  be  no  carelessness. 

On  the  occasion  of  sacrifices  of  the  second  grade  the  red 
notice  only  was  used.  In  the  palace,  itself,  the  notice  was 
suspended  alongside  a  small  bronze  image,  about  two  feet 
in  height,  which  was  placed  at  the  entrance  to  the  hall  of 
audience. 

Before  beginning  the  fast  it  was  necessary  to^bathe. 
Fasting  did  not  mean  entire  abstinence  from  food,  but 
from  all  flesh  and  strong-smelling  vegetables,  such  as  garlic, 
leeks  and  onions,  and  from  wine  and  all  strong  drink.  No 
criminal  proceedings  were  to  be  held,  no  invitations  to  feasts 
issued  or  accepted.  There  was  to  be  no  music.  No  en¬ 
quiries  after  the  sick  were  allowed,  and  there  was  to  be  no 
mourning  for  the  dead.  One  was  particularly  forbidden 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  269 

to  enter  the  death  chamber  of  a  woman,  to  sacrifice  to 
ancestral  spirits  or  to  sweep  the  tombs.  All  association  of 
any  kind  with  the  sick  or  the  mourner  was  forbidden. 
These  prohibitions  remind  one  of  those  enforced  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Hebrew  sacrifices.  Aaron  and  his  sons 
were  forbidden  to  drink  any  wine  or  strong  drink  when 
about  to  go  into  the  tabernacle,  and  warned  not  to  mourn 
for  their  dead  when  serving  there.2 

In  the  case  of  the  great  sacrifice  to  the  Most  High  the 
Emperor  and  court  officials  kept  the  first  two  days  of  the 
fast  in  the  imperial  palace,  and  other  officials  observed  it 
in  their  yamens.  Officers  who  were  sixty  years  of  age  or 
over  were  excused  from  keeping  the  fast,  if  they  were  un¬ 
able  to  endure  it,  and  even  if  they  kept  the  fast  they  were 
not  required  to  accompany  the  Emperor  to  the  sacrifice. 
Their  ages,  however,  had  to  be  verified  and  entered  on  the 
record.  The  object  of  the  bathing  and  fasting  was  to 
make  oneself  pure  in  body  and  heart,  and  worthy  to  come 
into  the  presence  of  the  divinity.  Special  officers  were 
appointed  to  visit  and  inspect  the  various  yamens.  Any 
officer  found  neglecting  the  fast  was  punished  according 
to  law. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  fast,  that  preceding  the  sacrifice, 
the  Emperor  and  attending  ministers  repaired  to  the 
Temple  of  Heaven,  to  the  Hall  of  Fasting  in  that  enclosure. 
The  bronze  image  and  warning  notice  were  then  set  up  in 
a  small  marble  pavilion  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
terrace  in  front  of  the  Hall  of  Fasting.  Before  leaving 
the  palace  the  offerings  of  silk,  the  gems  and  the  prayer, 
which  were  to  accompany  the  Emperor,  were  carefully 
inspected  by  him  in  the  great  T’ai  Ho  Tien,  the  hall  in 
which  the  most  important  court  functions  were  held.  The 
prayer  was  written  on  blue  paper  in  vermilion  ink. 


symbolism 

Color,  form  and  number  all  played  an  important  part  in 
the  construction  of  the  altars,  the  temples  and  their  furni- 
2  Leviticus  x:6-9. 


270 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


ture,  and  in  the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  worship. 
The  characteristic  color  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven  is  bine — 
the  azure  of  the  sky.  The  word  used  to  describe  it,  how¬ 
ever,  is  one  of  those  primitive  words  which  may  mean  blue 
or  green.  It  is  well  known  that  some  primitive  peoples  fail 
to  distinguish  these  two  colors  and  use  one  word  for  both. 
It  is  the  color  of  nature — the  blue  of  the  sky  and  the  green 
of  the  grass.  The  jade  emblem  offered  at  the  altar  to 
Heaven  is  called  ch’ing,  whicli  is  also  used  for  the  color 
of  the  sky,  but  the  gem  is  green.  During  the  Ming  Dynasty 
the  tiles  on  the  buildings  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven  were 
green.  This  was  true,  too,  of  the  older  temple  at  Nanking. 
During  the  reign  of  Ch’ienlung  (A.D.  1736-1796),  who  was 
an  antiquarian  and  a  stickler  for  accuracy,  the  buildings 
in  Peking  were  reconstructed  in  accordance  with  ancient 
tradition,  and  blue  tiles  were  substituted  for  the  green. 
Nevertheless,  on  the  Hall  of  Fasting  and  buildings  of  lesser 
importance  the  green  tiles  are  still  to  be  seen.  All  the 
sacrificial  vessels  used  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven  were  blue. 
The  golden  candlesticks  were  surrounded  by  a  shelter  of 
blue  gauze.  The  silk  offered  to  God  was  blue.  The  cover¬ 
ings  of  the  tabernacle  and  of  the  awnings  that  sheltered 
the  walks  were  blue.  But  the  lanterns  were  purple  rather 
than  blue. 

The  circle  is  appropriate  to  Heaven  and  the  heavenly 
bodies,  hence  the  shape  of  the  altars  and  vessels  used  at 
the  Temple  of  Heaven  was  circular.  Odd  numbers  belong 
to  Heaven;  even  to  Earth.  Three  and  nine  were  the  num¬ 
bers  chiefly  used  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven.  When  Ch’ien- 
lung  ordered  the  three  terraces  of  the  great  marble  altar 
there  to  be  rebuilt,  he  gave  strict  injunction  that  all  the 
odd  numbers  of  the  nine  digits  should  be  represented  in  the 
construction.  This  was  done,  according  to  the  official  re¬ 
port,  by  making  the  diameter  of  the  topmost  terrace  nine 
chang  (90  feet)  in  diameter,  which  would  represent  1X9. 
The  second  terrace  was  made  15  chang  representing  the 
product  of  3  X  5,  and  the  loweruiost  terrace  was  21  chang , 
the  product  of  3  X  7.  Thus  all  the  odd  digits  were  repre¬ 
sented.  The  chang  used,  however,  was  not  the  official  chang 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  271 

of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  for  on  measuring  these 
terraces  I  found  that  they  were  much  smaller.  The  ratios, 
however,  are  substantially  as  required.  The  odd  numbers 
are  conspicuous  in  other  features  of  the  altar  and  the  furni¬ 
ture.  One  circular  stone  forms  the  center  of  the  pavement 
of  the  topmost  terrace.  In  the  first  circle  around  it  are 
nine  stones ;  in  the  second  18 ;  in  the  third  27.  There  are 
nine  concentric  circles,  each  containing  a  number  of  paving 
stones  which  is  a  multiple  of  nine.  The  outermost  has 
9  X  9,  or  81  stones.  Nine  times  nine  represents  perfection 
in  Chinese  philosophy.  This  arrangement  of  paving  stones 
continues  in  the  middle  and  lowermost  terraces.  From 
the  topmost  terrace  nine  steps  lead  to  the  middle  terrace, 
and  nine  from  that  to  the  lowest.  The  same  number  con¬ 
nects  the  lowest  with  the  ground.  The  Emperor  in  worship 
had  to  kneel  three  times  and  kotow  nine.  There  were 
nine  pieces  of  music  in  the  service,  nine  pieces  of  silk  were 
offered,  and  nine  tabernacles  were  erected  on  the  upper¬ 
most  terrace.  There  were  five  pedestals  on  this  terrace,  and 
there  were  three  tall  masts  in  the  outer  court  of  the  Altar, 
from  which  during  service  three  large  lanterns  were  sus¬ 
pended  to  cast  a  faint  glow  over  the  courts. 

But  there  were  some  even  numbers  used  also.  The  circle 
contains  360  degrees,  in  China  as  with  us,  and  since  the 
circle  is  appropriate  to  Heaven  the  marble  balustrades 
around  the  three  terraces  of  the  Altar  were  made  to  con¬ 
tain  360  panels. 

At  the  Altar  to  Earth  yellow  is  the  prevailing  color. 
The  soil  in  north  China  is  yellow.  The  tiles  of  buildings 
at  the  Temple  to  the  Earth  are,  therefore,  yellow.  The 
vessels  of  the  sanctuary  are  yellow  and  the  gem  and  silk 
offered  are  yellow.  The  prayer  was  written  upon  yellow 
paper.  Since  in  the  ancient  belief  of  the  Chinese  the  earth 
is  square,  the  Altar  to  the  Earth  is  square,  and  all  the 
vessels  used  were  four-sided. 

The  Earth  represents  the  female  element  in  nature.  Its 
number  is  even.  This  number  is  eight.  Eight  pieces  of  silk 
were  offered  and  the  music  consisted  of  eight  pieces.  At 
the  Altar  to  the  Sun  the  color  of  tiles,  of  silk  and  gem 


272 


Confucianism  as  a  Slate  Religion 


was  red.  The  number  was  seven.  At  the  Temple  to  the 
Moon  the  number  was  six  and  the  color  was  white. 

The  Altar  to  the  Guardian  Spirits  of  the  Soil  and  Har¬ 
vests  was  peculiar.  It  had  to  symbolize  the  influences  of 
Heaven  and  Earth.  In  the  worshiping  the  She,  or  Spirit  of 
the  Soil,  a  yellow  gem  was  used,  but  a  green  one  for  the 
Spirit  of  the  Harvest.  It  is  described  as  round  in  its  upper 
part  and  square  in  the  lower.  The  offering  of  silk  consisted 
of  four  pieces,  an  even  number,  and  the  music  of  an  odd 
number,  seven.  The  prayer  was  written  in  black  on  white 
paper.  The  altar  was  square,  and  all  the  five  primary 
colors  of  Chinese  philosophy  were  employed.  The  top  of 
the  altar  was  yellow;  its  east  side  was  constructed  of  blue 
glazed  brick;  the  south  side  was  of  red,  the  west  of  white, 
the  north — the  side  of  darkness — was  of  black.  The  walls 
of  the  court  surrounding  the  altar  were  of  corresponding 
colors. 

Direction,  posture  and  time  all  had  their  significance. 
The  Emperor,  as  High  Priest  of  his  people,  worshiped 
God  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  at  the  Winter  Solstice  at 
night,  facing  the  north.  The  Jewish  High  Priest  also  faced 
the  north  when  offering  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  burnt 
offerings.  The  Emperor  worshiped  the  Earth  at  the 
the  Summer  Solstice  facing  the  south  at  high  noon.  He 
worshiped  the  sun  on  a  stated  morning  in  spring  before 
sunrise,  facing  the  east,  and  the  moon  on  a  stated  evening 
in  autumn  after  sunset,  facing  the  west. 

At  the  sacrifices  of  the  first  order  the  officials  used  the 
ceremony  of  the  three  kneelings  and  nine  prostrations. 
The  service  was  accompanied  not  only  by  music,  but  by 
dancing  or  posturing  as  well.  At  the  Altar  to  Heaven,  and 
at  all  sacrifices  of  the  first  rank,  these  posturers  were 
arranged  in  ranks  of  eight.  There  were  64  civilian  pos¬ 
turers,  carrying  wands,  and  64  military,  armed  with  spears. 
At  the  worship  of  Confucius  only  the  civilians  attended. 
The  music  was  furnished  by  an  orchestra  consisting  of 
stringed  instruments,  horns,  drums  and  cymbals,  musical 
stones  and  bells.  The  Master  of  Ceremonies  gave  the  signal 
to  start  or  stop  the  music.  The  stopper  is  an  instrument 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  273 

in  the  shape  of  a  crouching  tiger  with  erect  bristles  along 
his  spine.  By  drawing  his  baton  across  these  bristles  the 
Master  of  Ceremonies  created  a  shrieking  noise,  which  was 
heard  above  the  din  of  discordant  instruments  and  was  the 
signal  to  stop.  The  Chinese  sacred  music  is  written  in  the 
ancient  pentatonic  scale,  but  the  instruments  are  not  tuned 
to  harmony  one  wdth  another,  so  that  the  music  was  but  a 
“  joyful  noise.  ’  ’ 

The  use  of  gems  in  worship  is  common  to  many  religions. 
We  have  but  to  recall  the  ephod  of  the  Jewish  High  Priest, 
with  its  breast-plate  of  twelve  precious  stones,  each  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  having  its  own  symbol.  The  stone 
in  the  Christian  bishop’s  ring  also  has  its  significance. 
Color,  too,  is  important  in  other  religions  as  well  as  in 
Confucianism,  as  the  Cardinal’s  robe  and  the  Bishop’s 
purple  remind  us.  The  part  that  number  plays  in  archi¬ 
tecture,  and  that  of  posture  and  music  in  worship  are  well 
known.  The  sacrifice  of  animals,  accompanied  by  offerings 
of  wine  and  incense,  lighted  lamps  or  candles,  cooked  food 
and  fruits,  is  common  to  most  religions. 


MEANING  OF  SACRIFICE 

The  meaning  of  sacrifice  in  the  Confucian  religion  is 
stated  in  the  Li  Ki,  or  Book  of  Rites.  “  Sacrifice  is  for 
petition,  for  thanksgiving,  and  to  ward  off  calamity.  ’  ’ 3 
Theologians  tell  us  that  there  is  no  idea  of  expiation  in  it, 
but  merely  of  propitiation.  This  is  doubtless  true,  but  it 
is  also  true  that  all  calamities  in  China  are  regarded  as 
punishments  for  sins  committed,  and  sacrifices  offered  to 
Heaven  were  believed  to  be  able  to.  appease  the  deity  and 
so  avoid  the  punishment.  Probably  the  idea  of  substitution 
never  occurred  to  them.  The  sacrifices  were  believed  to 
be  offerings  of  “sweet-smelling  savor”  “well  pleasing  to 
God  ’  ’  and  to  the  spirits,  and  thus  likely  to  win  their  favor. 
There  is,  however,  one  interesting  passage  in  the  Li  Ki 
which  ought  to  be  mentioned :  ‘  ‘  The  blood  was  offered  be- 

3  Li  Ki  Y :  11. 


0 


274  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

cause  it  contained  the  breath”  4  (or  life).  This  will  recall 
a  passage  in  Leviticus  which  reads :  4  4  The  life  of  the  flesh 
is  in  the  blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar 
to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls.  ’  ’ 5  But  most  sacri¬ 
fices  offered  in  China  are  offered  to  ancestors,  and  it  was 
customary  to  offer  those  things  which  were  believed  to  have 
life-giving  properties,  in  order  to  strengthen  the  feeble  life 
of  the  disembodied  soul.  For  this  reason  jade,  or  pieces 
of  mother-of-pearl  were  placed  between  the  lips  of  the 
dead,  these  substances  being  associated  in  Chinese  belief 
with  life.  As  the  spirits  were  believed  to  partake  of  the 
ethereal  essence  of  the  offering,  the  blood,  which  was  be¬ 
lieved  to  contain  the  very  essence  of  life,  would  be  especially 
acceptable. 

A  distinction  should  be  made,  too,  between  the  animals 
offered  on  the  marble  altar,  whose  flesh  was  carried  away 
and  eaten  by  worshipers,  and  that  of  the  bullock  whose 
body  was  consumed  upon  the  altar  of  burnt  offerings.  The 
former  was  a  feast  of  communion  with  the  divine. 

The  animals  offered  had  to  be  without  spot  or  blemish. 
Inspection  had  to  be  made,  either  by  the  Emperor  in  person 
or  by  someone  deputed  by  him,  and  after  the  inspection 
the  ceremony  of  killing  had  to  be  witnessed  by  such  person. 
The  sacrifice  to  Shang  Ti,  the  Most  High,  was  that  of  a 
young  bullock.  This,  according  to  the  Li  Ki,  was  the 
supreme  act  of  worship :  4  4  The  sacrifice  to  God  in  the 
suburb  is  the  highest  act  of  worship.  7  ’ 6 

In  the  Hebrew  ritual  4  4  The  bodies  of  those  beasts,  whose 
blood  was  brought  into  the  sanctuary  by  the  High  Priest 
for  sin”  4 4 were  burned  without  the  camp,”7  or,  in  later 
Jewish  history,  outside  the  city  gate.  So  the  bullock  sac¬ 
rificed  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven  as  a  whole  burnt  offering 
to  God  was  burned  outside  the  city  gate. 

There  has  never  been  but  one  recognized  altar  to  Shang 
Ti  in  China.  To  erect  a  second  one  was  as  great  an  act 

4  Ibid. 

s  Leviticus  xvii :  11. 

6  Li  Ki,  Y :  10. 

7  Hebrews  xiii:ll. 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


27  5 


of  treason  as  among  the  Hebrews  it  was  to  raise  an  altar 
to  Jehovah  anywhere  else  than  in  Jerusalem.  In  both  cases 
the  worship  of  the  Supreme  God  was  centralized  at  the 
capital. 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  HEAVEN 

The  Temple  of  Heaven  is  an  oblong  enclosure,  measuring 
5583  feet  from  north  to  south  and  5750  feet  from  east  to 
west.  It  contains  about  737  acres.  It  is  surrounded  by  a 
strong  brick  wall,  which  has  no  entrance  except  upon  the 
west.  The  northern  wall  is  an  arc  of  a  circle,  convex 
toward  the  north,  being  in  this  respect  similar  to  the  walls 
built  upon  the  north  side  of  grave  plots  to  ward  off  evil 
influences  which  may  come  from  the  side  of  darkness.  Two 
gates  on  the  west  side  give  entrance  to  the  outer  court, 
which  is  continuous  around  the  four  sides.  It  was  used 
as  pasture  for  the  flocks  and  herds  offered  in  sacrifice.  A 
beautiful  bell  tower  stands  near  the  entrance  to  the  court, 
and  walks  crossing  it  in  various  directions  are  shaded  by  a 
species  of  acacia.  Formerly  no  one  was  admitted  to  this 
court  except  the  officers  in  charge,  those  participating  in 
the  worship  and  the  slaves  who  cared  for  the  flocks  and 
herds.  The  bell  in  the  campanile  announced  the  approach 
of  the  Emperor  when  he  came  to  worship.  A  larger  build¬ 
ing  near  by  was  used  for  rehearsals  of  the  musicians  and 
posturers  who  assisted  at  the  worship. 

Surrounded  on  all  sides  by  this  outer  court  is  an  inner 
court,  4000  feet  long  north  and  south  by  3400  east  and 
west.  It  also  is  protected  by  a  high  brick  wall,  in  which 
there  are  gates  on  the  east,  west  and  south  sides.  It  is 
shaded  by  a  grove  of  cypress.  This  inner  court  is  divided 
into  two  sections,  a  southern  one  for  service  at  the  open 
marble  altar,  and  a  northern  one  for  the  ceremonies  at 
the  covered  altar.  The  beautiful  building,  erected  upon 
the  top  of  a  triple-terraced  marble  altar,  like  the  altar 
itself,  is  circular  in  its  ground  plan.  The  walls  and  carved 
lattices  are  vermilion  in  color,  and  the  triple  roof  of  blue 
glazed  tiles  is  supported  upon  huge  pillars  of  teak  deco- 


276  Ccnfuoianism  as  a  State  Religion 

rated  with  red  lacquer  and  gold.  A  circular  medallion  in 
the  center  of  the  ceiling  bears  the  emblems  of  the  Emperor 
and  Empress,  the  dragon  and  the  phoenix.  These  emblems 
also  appear  carved  upon  the  marble  stairs  that  lead  from 
one  terrace  to  another.  Formerly  the  lattices  were  filled 
with  blue  glass  rods  which  shed  their  color  over  the  furni¬ 
ture  of  the  interior.  The  old  building  was  struck  by  light¬ 
ning  in  1890,  a  calamity  regarded  even  then  as  an  omen 
of  the  approaching  downfall  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty.  The 
present  building  never  was  completed  and  was  never  used 
by  the  Emperor.  After  the  revolution  the  parliamentary 
committee  appointed  to  draft  the  new  constitution  of  the 
Kepublic  held  its  meetings  in  this  sacred  chamber.  A  cov¬ 
ered  zigzag  passage  connects  the  building  with  the 
slaughter-house  and  kitchen  in  the  north-eastern  corner  of 
this  section  of  the  inner  court.  To  the  north  of  the  altar 
is  an  enclosure  containing  the  hall  in  which  the  tablets  to 
God  and  to  the  assisting  spirits  were  kept.  The  covered 
altar  is  called  the  Hall  of  Prayer  for  the  Year,  that  is  to 
say,  the  hall  where  prayer  was  made  for  a  year  of  peace 
and  plenty.  The  stated  service  was  held  in  the  First 
Moon,  according  to  the  old  calendar,  and  special  services 
were  held  there  in  time  of  drought  or  other  calamity,  that 
prayer  might  be  made  for  relief  of  the  distress.  This  beau¬ 
tiful  structure,  however,  is  not  the  most  important  part  of 
the  Temple  of  Heaven.  The  southern  section  of  the  inner 
court,  where  sacrifice  was  offered  to  the  Most  High  upon 
the  uncovered  marble  altar  under  the  star-lit  dome  of  the 
sky,  was  the  most  holy  place. 

Before  worshiping  at  this  altar  the  Emperor  had  to 
prepare  himself  in  the  Hall  of  Fasting,  which  is  situated 
in  the  south-western  corner  of  the  northern  section  of  the 
inner  court.  This  is  a  group  of  green-tiled  buildings  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  double  wall  and  two  moats.  Around  the  outer 
wall,  on  the  four  sides,  there  is  a  colonnade.  Within  this 
wall  the  first  court  was  given  up  to  the  guards  and  servants 
who  accompanied  His  Majesty.  Crossing  the  second  moat, 
one  passed  through  the  inner  wall  into  the  central  court, 
where  the  Emperor  had  his  private  quarters,  and  in  which, 


THE  EMPEROR  KUANGHSU,  GOING  TO  WORSHIP  AT  TABLET  PAVILION,  IMPERIAL  CEMETERY,  MUKDEN. 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  HEAVEN. 


. 


277 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

too,  there  was  a  campanile  whose  bell  announced  his  com¬ 
ing  and  going. 

The  open  marble  altar  occupied  the  center  of  the  southern 
section  of  the  inner  court.  At  the  time  of  worship  heavy 
beams  were  laid  upon  the  floor  of  the  uppermost  terrace, 
for  the  support  of  nine  tabernacles  that  were  constructed 
there.  These  were  made  of  boards  with  tenons  that  fitted 
into  sockets  in  the  beams  just  mentioned.  These  tabernacles 
were  lined  inside  with  yellow  satin  (yellow  being  the  color 
of  the  Manchu  Dynasty),  and  covered  on  the  outside  with 
blue  silk.  The  one  on  the  north  side  sheltered  the  throne 
chair  upon  which  was  placed  the  tablet  of  the  Most  High. 
In  front  of  the  tabernacle  was  a  table  spread  with  offerings 
of  fruit  and  cooked  food,  and  before  the  table  was  a 
trencher  with  the  offering  of  a  whole  bullock,  flayed.  At 
one  side  was  a  table  with  the  prayer  placed  upon  it;  at 
the  other  a  table  with  offerings  of  jade,  silk  and  wine,  with 
the  wine-cup  and  pitcher.  In  the  middle  of  the  terrace 
were  the  five  carved  pillars.  On  the  central  one  was  placed 
the  golden  censer,  on  either  side  of  it  a  golden  candle-stick, 
and,  on  the  outermost  pair,  vases  with  gilt  flowers. 

On  the  eastern  and  western  sides  of  the  terrace  were 
the  tabernacles  of  the  imperial  ancestors,  four  on  each  side. 
These  were  fitted  up  like  that  of  the  Most  High  but  there 
were  no  separate  tables  for  prayers  or  for  the  silk  offerings. 
But  one  prayer  was  offered— that  to  God,  and  the  rolls  of 
silk  were  placed  on  the  same  table  as  those  offered  to  the 
Supreme  Being. 

Similar  tabernacles  were  erected  on  the  middle  terrace. 
There  were  two  on  the  east ;  one  for  the  tablet  to  the  Sun, 
and  the  other  to  those  of  the  North  Star,  the  Five  Planets, 
the  Twenty-eight  Constellations  and  the  Stars  of  the  Zodiac. 
Two  tabernacles  also  were  erected  on  the  west;  one  for 
the  Moon  and  one  for  the  Master  of  the  Clouds  and  the 
Spirits  of  the  Winds,  Rains  and  Thunder.  These  were 
the  “Assisting  Spirits,”  probably  occupying  the  place  of 
the  “Six  Assisting  Spirits”  mentioned  in  the  Book  of 
History.8 

8  Shu  King,  Canon  of  Shun. 


278  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

A  small  tent  was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  middle 
terrace  for  the  use  of  the  Emperor.  Toward  the  four 
cardinal  points  of  the  compass  steps  led  from  the  upper 
terrace  to  the  ground,  three  flights  of  nine  steps  each,  in 
each  direction,  and  at  the  foot  of  each  flight  of  nine  steps, 
on  the  north  and  south,  was  placed  a  pair  of  huge  bronze 
urns  from  which  great  clouds  of  incense  ascended  during 
the  worship.  A  pair  of  urns  for  incense  to  the  assisting 
spirits  on  the  east  side  of  the  middle  terrace  was  placed 
outside  the  east  gate  of  the  circular  court  of  the  altar, 
and  another  pair  outside  the  west  gate  for  those  worshiped 
on  that  side.  This  circular  court  surrounding  the  white 
marble  altar  is  335  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  surrounded  by 
a  red  wall  covered  with  blue  tiles.  There  are  openings 
toward  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  Each 
opening  is  divided  into  three  door-ways  constructed  of 
white  marble  pillars  and  lintels,  decorated  with  dragons 
and  flying  clouds.  The  doors  were  covered  with  red  lacquer 
and  closed  during  worship.  At  the  foot  of  the  altar  stairs 
on  the  south  side  the  orchestra  was  arranged,  and  behind 
it  the  ranks  of  the  posturers. 

This  circular  court  of  the  altar  was  surrounded  by  a 
square  court  549  feet  on  a  side,  with  its  walls  and  gates. 
In  the  south-western  corner  of  this  court  were  three  tall 
masts  that  supported  huge  lanterns  of  purple  silk.  In  the 
south-eastern  corner  was  the  Altar  of  Burnt  Offerings,  con¬ 
structed  of  green  glazed  tile  with  stairs  on  the  east,  west 
and  south.  The  furnace  opening  was  on  the  north.  In  a 
quadrant  extending  north-eastwards  from  this  altar  were 
eight  braziers,  in  which  the  offerings  of  silk  were  consumed. 

In  a  grove  of  dark  cypresses  outside  the  east  gate  of  this 
court  was  the  treasury,  in  which  the  holy  vessels  were 
stored,  and  the  slaughter-house  where  the  victims  were 
killed.  Outside  the  north  gate  was  a  temple  in  which  the 
tablet  to  the  Most  High  and  those  to  the  imperial  ancestors 
and  the  assisting  spirits  were  kept.  The  principal  building 
was  circular  with  red  walls,  and  covered  with  a  conical 
roof  of  blue  tiles.  Outside  the  south  gate  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  walk  there  was  a  dressing  tent  for  the  Emperor. 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  279 

The  paved  way  from  the  tent  to  the  south  gate  of  the  south¬ 
ern  section  of  the  great  inner  court,  and  thence  by  way  of 
the  outer  court  to  the  Hall  of  Fasting,  was  covered  with 
coir  matting  and  sheltered  by  a  canopy  of  blue  silk  lined 
with  yellow  satin.  Standards  supporting  lanterns  of  purple 
silk  were  stationed  every  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 

At  the  winter  solstice,  a  season  of  religious  celebration 
in  all  lands,  the  most  solemn  service  was  held.  Five  days 
before  the  sacrifice  all  the  animals  were  carefully  inspected, 
and,  at  the  fifth  watch  in  the  early  morning  of  the  day 
preceding  the  worship,  the  furniture  was  arranged  upon 
the  altar.  At  that  hour  the  roadway  from  the  south  gate 
of  the  Imperial  Palace  to  the  Temple  of  Heaven  was  swept 
and  covered  with  yellow  earth.  Guards  were  stationed 
along  the  route  and  ordered  all  houses  and  shops  to  close 
their  doors.  Blue  curtains  cut  off  the  cross  streets.  At 
nine  o’clock  a.m.  the  bell  and  drum  in  the  tower  over  the 
south  gate  of  the  palace  announced  that  the  Emperor  was 
leaving  for  the  Temple  of  Heaven.  This  was  echoed  at 
the  campanile  in  the  outer  court  of  the  temple.  All  trains 
were  forbidden  to  enter  or  leave  the  city.  A  sabbath-like 
stillness  settled  over  the  capital.  The  Emperor  dressed 
in  his  dragon  robes,  sitting  in  his  palanquin,  which  was 
covered  with  yellow  satin  and  lined  with  blue  silk,  was 
carried  by  36  men.  A  herald  announced  his  coming.  All 
persons  except  the  guards  and  attendants  left  the  street. 
An  incense-bearer  followed  the  herald,  and  behind  him  were 
carried  the  imperial  standard  and  the  yellow  umbrella,  just 
preceding  the  imperial  chair.  Princes,  dukes,  and  high 
ministers  of  state  followed  it  and  the  Imperial  Guard  com¬ 
pleted  the  retinue.  Between  files  of  kneeling  soldiers  it 
made  its  way  to  the  southernmost  gate  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Temple  of  Heaven.  There  all  officers  except  those 
who  had  been  excused  because  of  age  were  compelled  to 
leave  their  chairs,  horses  and  carts,  and  enter  the  temple 
on  foot.  The  Emperor  was  carried  in  his  palanquin  to  the 
south  gate  of  the  inner  court,  where  he,  too,  was  compelled 
to  leave  his  chair.  He  entered  on  foot  through  the  eastern 
opening  of  this  gate-way.  The  central  door-ways  and  the 


280 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

central  paths  were  reserved  for  the  spirits.  From  the 
south  gate  he  walked  to  the  temple  where  the  tablets  were 
kept,  and  there  offered  incense  to  God  and  to  his  ancestors. 
He  knelt  three  times,  each  time  bowing  his  head  three 
times  to  the  earth,  and  announced  that  he  would  sacrifice 
to  them  on  the  following  morning.  He  then  inspected  the 
offerings  and  the  altar,  and  went  to  the  Hall  of  Fasting 
where  he  spent  the  day  in  preparation. 

At  nightfall  the  lanterns  and  the  candles  in  the  golden 
candlesticks  were  lighted.  Just  before  midnight  the  Court 
of  Sacrificial  Worship  erected  a  temporary  altar  at  the 
slaughterhouse,  and,  after  burning  incense  thereon,  the 
victims  were  slain.  The  handle  of  the  sacrificial  knife  was 
decorated  with  bells.  The  blood  was  caught  in  a  globular 
vessel  and  poured  into  a  pit  on  the  east  side  of  the  slaugh¬ 
terhouse.  The  hair  of  the  victims  was  also  burned  there. 
The  wood  was  arranged  upon  the  altar  of  burnt  offering, 
and  one  bullock  laid  thereon.  The  other  offerings  were 
placed  in  their  proper  places  on  the  marble  altar  and  the 
prayer  tablet  placed  on  its  table.  Three  hours  and  a  half 
before  sunrise,  the  Emperor  is  informed  that  the  time  for 
worship  has  arrived.  The  bell  at  the  Hall  of  Fasting 
announces  his  departure  and  gives  warning  to  the  officials 
at  the  altar,  who,  with  appropriate  ceremonies  take  the 
tablets  from  their  shrines  and  place  each  one  in  a  kiosque 
with  a  cylindrical  body  and  a  conical  top,  painted  in  black 
and  gold.  These  are  carried  by  means  of  rods  passing 
through  rings  at  the  sides.  The  tablets  are  carried  to  the 
south  gate  of  the  square  court  of  the  Altar,  and  thence 
to  the  top  of  the  Altar,  where  each  is  placed  in  its  appro¬ 
priate  tabernacle.  The  Emperor  follows  the  sacred  way 
to  the  south  gate  of  the  square  court  of  the  Altar,  and 
enters  there  his  dressing  tent.  There  he  puts  on  his  High 
Priest’s  robes.  When  all  is  in  order  he  comes  out  of  his 
tent  and  is  met  by  ministers  bearing  a  ewer  and  basin  of 
water,  in  which  he  washes  his  hands,  for  the  Emperor  had 
to  be  a  man  of  clean  hands,  as  well  as  of  pure  heart,  in 
order  to  worship  God.  The  Jewish  priests  also  were  re¬ 
quired  to  wash  their  hands  and  feet  in  the  laver  ‘  ‘  between 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  281 

the  tent  of  the  congregation  and  the  altar,  before  going  to 
the  altar  to  minister.  ’  ’ 9 

The  Emperor  then  passes  into  the  eastern  entrance  of 
the  south  gate  of  the  square  court  of  the  Altar,  and  through 
the  corresponding  gate  of  the  circular  court,  and  ascends 
the  Altar  from  the  south.  There  he  stands  facing  the 
north,  the  side  of  darkness,  just  as  the  Hebrew  High  Priest 
did  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  still  dark.  A  faint  glow  is  shed 
over  the  courts  by  the  light  of  the  great  lanterns.  Ushers 
conduct  the  various  officers  to  their  places.  The  musicians 
stand  in  two  ranks,  one  on  either  side  of  the  pathway.  The 
64  civilian  posturers,  with  wands  and  plumes,  and  the  64 
military  posturers,  bearing  spears  and  battle-axes,  are  also 
arranged,  a  group  of  both  on  each  side  of  the  pathway. 
Behind  these,  arranged  according  to  rank,  are  the  princes, 
dukes,  marquises,  earls,  viscounts  and  barons,  and  the 
high  officials  of  the  government,  rank  on  rank  in  the  cir¬ 
cular  court,  the  square  court,  and  outside  the  opened  doors 
of  the  square  court,  all  facing  the  north.  The  Master  of 
Ceremonies  announces  the  service  for  the  reception  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  Most  High.  The  fire  is  lighted  under  the 
Altar  of  Burnt  Offering,  and  the  orchestra  plays  the  first 
piece  of  music. 

The  service  was  divided  into  nine  sections  by  nine  pieces 
of  music.  The  first  act  was  to  offer  incense.  It  was  ac¬ 
companied  by  three  kneelings  and  nine  prostrations.  When 
the  Emperor  kotowed  and  the  attending  ministers  heard 
“the  sound  of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery  and 
all  kinds  of  music” — “they  all  fell  down  and  wor¬ 
shiped.”10  Thus  the  long  programme  was  carefully 
carried  out.  The  offerings  of  jade  and  silk  each  had  its 
appropriate  piece  of  music,  and  each  offering  was  followed 
by  kneeling  and  prostration  of  the  whole  company.  But 
when  the  first  libation  of  wine  was  made  to  the  Most  High 
it  was  accompanied  by  the  dancing  of  the  military  pos¬ 
turers,  with  brandishing  of  spears  and  battle-axes. 

Immediately  after  this  first  libation  the  whole  company 

9  Exodus  xxx :  18  and  19. 

10  Daniel  iii :  7. 


282  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

knelt  while  the  prayer  was  read.  After  its  reading  it  was 
placed  on  the  Altar  of  the  Most  High.  During  the  offer¬ 
ings  of  wine  to  the  imperial  ancestors,  none  but  the  civilian 
dancers  took  part  in  the  posturing.  After  these  libations, 
a  plate  of  meat  offerings  and  a  cup  of  the  drink  offering 
were  carried  to  the  shrine  of  the  Most  High,  where  the 
Emperor,  kneeling,  was  served  by  Ministers  of  the  Court 
of  Imperial  Banquets  and  officers  of  the  Guards.  They 
handed  to  him  first  the  cup  of  blessing,  of  which  he  took 
a  sip,  and  then  the  tray  of  cooked  food,  which  he  took  and 
raised  reverently  in  his  right  hand  and  passed  to  the 
officers  on  his  right.  Thus  symbolically  he  entered  into 
communion  with  the  Most  High  and  with  his  ancestors. 
After  the  offerings  had  been  made  the  prayer  tablet,  the 
silk,  the  incense  and  the  wine  were  carried  to  the  Altar  of 
Burnt  Offering,  and  to  the  braziers  of  other  spirits,  and 
burned.  The  services  were  ended  and  the  tablets  rever¬ 
ently  restored  to  their  shrines. 


WORSHIP  AT  OTHER  SHRINES 

The  services  in  spring  at  the  covered  altar  were  very 
similar.  At  the  Altar  to  Imperial  Earth  in  the  northern 
suburb  the  sacrifices  were  not  burned  but  buried.  The 
spirits  of  mountains,  rivers  and  seas  were  associated  with 
the  Earth  in  the  worship. 

There  has  been  a  disposition  shown  among  some  writers 
to  describe  Confucianism  as  a  dualism  because  of  this 
worship  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  the  philosophical  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  Yin  and  Yang 11  lends  some  support  to  the 
theory.  But  a  more  careful  analysis  will  show  that  this  is 
not  the  case.  The  prominence  given  in  the  construction  of 
the  Temple  of  Heaven,  and  in  its  worship,  to  the  number, 
three,  is  not  without  reason.  It  has  its  origin  in  the  Con- 
fucian  triad — Heaven,  Earth  and  Man.  The  three  cere- 

11  The  Yin  is  the  female,  the  Yang  the  male  principle.  The  Yin 
is  the  negative,  the  Yang  positive.  The  Yin  darkness  and  weakness, 
the  Yang  light  and  strength. 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


283 


monies  used  in  the  worship  of  this  triad  can  be  traced 
to  the  earliest  known  period  of  Chinese  history.  The 
“Three  ceremonies”  are  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  His¬ 
tory.12  The  worship  of  the  spirits  of  men  is  shown  in 
the  ancestor  worship  already  described,  but  the  representa¬ 
tive  man,  the  Chinese  ideal  man,  is  Confucius;  and  the 
official  worship  of  the  Sage  at  the  spring  and  autumn 
equinoxes  in  more  than  1500  temples  in  China  was  regarded 
as  scarcely  less  important  than  that  of  Heaven  and  Eartl 
This  cult,  however,  is  comparatively  recent.  In  ancient 
times  the  third  ceremony  was  that  for  the  worship  of  the 
imperial  ancestors.  This,  too,  was  not  neglected  by  the 
Manchus,  as  we  have  seen,  but  the  worship  of  Confucius 
since  the  Seventh  century  A.D.  has  over-shadowed  it. 

The  first  time  I  ever  attempted  to  witness  the  service  in 
a  Confucian  temple  I  was  mobbed,  and  perhaps  might  have 
been  seriously  injured  if  I  had  not  been  rescued.  Another 
American  and  myself  were  invited  by  a  Chinese  gentleman 
to  attend  the  worship  at  one  of  the  large  temples  in  Nan¬ 
king.  We  thought  it  would  be  interesting  first  to  visit 
the  temple  on  the  afternoon  preceding  the  sacrifice,  in 
order  to  study  the  arrangement  of  the  furniture  and  see 
the  sacrifices  in  place.  As  we  entered  the  gateway  we 
were  seen  by  a  crowd  of  idlers  who  did  not  approve  of 
the  conduct  of  our  Chinese  friends  in  thus  leading  two 
“foreign  devils”  into  the  holy  precincts.  The  temple  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  whole  country.  Its  buildings  are 
covered  with  red  stucco  and  roofed  with  golden-colored 
tiles.  The  courts  are  spacious  and  paved  and  are  sur¬ 
rounded  with  pillared  cloisters.  We  passed  from  court  to 
court,  followed  by  an  ever-increasing  crowd  of  angry 
Chinese.  When  we  reached  the  door  of  the  Sacrificial  Hall, 
on  whose  portico  we  saw  arranged  the  instruments  of  the 
orchestra,  we  found  that  the  crowd  had  grown  dangerous. 
We  attempted  to  escape  through  one  of  the  cloistered  ways, 
but  found  ourselves  stopped  by  the  mob,  who  began  to  beat 
us.  When  after  much  struggling  we  reached  the  entrance 
the  mob  closed  the  gates  and  were  punishing  us.  The 

12  Shu  King,  Canon  of  Shun. 


284 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


Chinese  friend  had  disappeared  and  we  saw  no  way  of 
escape,  but  in  a  few  moments  the  friend  returned  with  the 
official  in  charge.  This  kind  old  gentleman,  in  his  flowing 
robes  and  mandarin’s  hat,  parted  the  crowd  right  and  left 
and  escorted  us  into  the  street,  warning  the  crowd  at  the 
same  time  not  to  attack  us.  Needless  to  say  we  did  not 
witness  the  sacrifice  the  next  morning. 

Some  years  later  at  Shanghai  the  Taotai  invited  me  to 
attend  the  autumn  service  in  the  temple  there.  About 
three  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  September  21,  1898,  I 
arrived  at  the  West  Gate  and  was  admitted.  A  palanquin 
with  bearers  was  awaiting  me  on  the  inside.  There  was 
no  electric  light  in  those  days  in  the  Chinese  city,  and  no 
gas,  but  here  and  there  in  the  narrow,  crooked  streets  the 
darkness  was  made  visible  by  a  small  oil  lamp.  The  chair- 
bearers  were  not  puzzled;  they  knew  their  way  over  the 
slippery  pavements  with  their  eyes  shut.  After  a  ride  of 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  the  temple  was  reached.  The 
court  was  filled  with  the  students  and  gentry  of  the  dis¬ 
trict,  each  in  his  religious  dress.  This  was  a  dark  blue 
gown  with  light  blue  facings.  It  was  belted  in  at  the 
waist.  The  hat  was  similar  to  the  Chinese  dress  hat  of 
those  days  but  had  a  longer  spike  on  the  top.  Each  wor¬ 
shiper  carried  a  panache  of  peacock  feathers  and  a  tablet 
on  which  the  hymn  to  Confucius  was  written.  The  or¬ 
chestra  contained  the  usual  collection  of  stringed  and  wind 
instruments,  drums  and  cymbals,  bells  and  musical  stones, 
the  starter  and  the  stopper. 

The  Taotai  placed  me  at  one  end  of  the  hall  where  I 
could  witness  the  whole  service.  A  Master  of  Ceremonies 
directed  it.  There  was  no  image  in  the  temple.  The  tablet 
to  Confucius  was  on  the  altar.  Before  it  was  spread  a 
table  of  fruits  and  cooked  vegetables.  In  front  of  that, 
on  trusses,  were  the  bodies  of  a  sheep  and  a  pig.  The 
orchestra  played  appropriate  music,  and  the  Taotai  entered 
the  hall  kotowed,  and  then  lighted  incense  upon  the  altar 
of  incense  just  inside  the  doorway.  The  worshipers  out¬ 
side,  arranged  in  .  ranks,  bowed  and  waved  their  plumes 
and  chanted  the  pean  to  Confucius.  There  were  offerings 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion  28 5 

likewise  of  wine  and  silk.  These  were  made  first  to  Con¬ 
fucius  and  then  to  the  four  principal  disciples ;  Tseng  Tzu, 
Yen  Tzu,  Tzu  Ssu,  and  Meng  Tzu.  The  last  we  know  as 
Mencius.  The  altars  to  these  disciples  were  at  the  sides 
of  the  hall.  After  the  offering  had  been  made  upon  the 
altar  the  silk  and  wine  were  carried  out  into  the  court 
and  burned  in  a  brazier.  At  the  close  of  the  service  the 
meats  were  distributed  to  those  participating  in  the  wor¬ 
ship,  and  I  went  to  breakfast  with  the  Taotai. 

While  the  service  was  being  conducted  in  the  main  hall 
of  the  temple,  similar  offerings  were  being  made  in  two 
side  chapels  to  the  seventy  disciples  of  the  Master.  In  each 
of  these  chapels  one  sheep  only  was  offered.  After  the 
decree  of  1907,  raising  the  rank  of  Confucius  in  the 
pantheon,  it  became  necessary  at  his  altars  to  offer  a  whole 
bullock,  as  well  as  the  sacrifice  of  sheep  and  swine.  The 
same  sacrifice  was  made  to  him  as  to  the  Most  High.  In 
some  Confucian  temples  there  is  a  chapel  behind  the  main 
hall  of  sacrifice,  dedicated  to  the  mother  of  the  Sage. 

One  of  the  very  interesting  religious  services  under  the 
old  Manchu  regime,  but  one  which  dates  from  a  great 
antiquity,  was  that  celebrated  in  the  Temple  of  Agricul¬ 
ture.  On  a  great  square  altar  in  the  grove  sacrifices  were 
made  to  Shennung,  the  Patron  Saint  of  Agriculture,  and 
the  Emperor  himself  plowed  eight  furrows  in  the  Field  of 
God.  The  plow  was  a  light  shovel  plow,  painted  yellow, 
and  was  drawn  by  an  ox.  After  the  Emperor,  various 
princes  and  nobles  also  plowed  each  his  allotted  number  of 
furrows.  In  truth  the  field  had  been  well  plowed  before¬ 
hand  and  the  soil  was  as  soft  as  that  of  a  garden,  so  that  the 
task  was  not  a  difficult  one.  The  field  was  then  sown  with 
grain,  which  later  in  the  year  was  harvested  and  made  into 
flour  to  be  used  in  the  temple  offerings.  This  service  took 
place  in  the  mid-month  of  spring,  and  was  intended  to  be 
a  recognition  by  the  State  of  the  importance  of  agriculture 
and  thus  an  encouragement  to  the  farmer.  In  every  county 
there  is  an  altar  to  the  local  guardian  spirits  of  the  soil 
and  the  harvests,  and  surrounding  or  adjoining  it  there 
is  such  a  field  of  God,  which  the  local  authorities  were 


286  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

accustomed  to  plow  in  the  spring,  in  imitation  of  the  good 
example  of  the  Emperor. 


ATTEMPTS  TO  REVIVE  CONFUCIANISM 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  revive  Confucianism 
as  a  state  religion  since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic, 
but  Parliament  has  decided  to  follow  the  American  example 
and  make  no  establishment  for  religious  worship.  Opposi¬ 
tion  to  Confucianism  came  from  three  quarters ;  from  those 
who  were  indifferent  to  all  religions,  from  the  Christians, 
who  are  becoming  a  very  influential  element  in  Chinese 
politics,  and  from  the  Buddhists,  who  had  organized  a 
society  to  promote  the  establishment  of  their  religion  as 
that  of  the  State. 

The  Confucianists  were  filled  with  fear  that  the  dises¬ 
tablishment  of  their  religion  would  mean  the  disintegration 
of  society  and  the  moral  deterioration  of  the  individual, 
but  the  experience  of  our  own  country  is  just  to  the  con¬ 
trary.  Religion  is  less  formal  and  more  powerful  when 
it  is  supported,  not  by  state  authority  and  subsidy,  but  by 
the  free-will  offerings  of  those  who  believe  in  it.  Our  coun¬ 
try  is  not  less  religious  than  those  which  support  estab¬ 
lished  churches.  This  was  pointed  out  in  1913  to  the 
leaders  of  the  Confucian  Society.  The  reply  made  was 
that  the  sacrifices  were  too  costly  to  be  borne  by  private 
enterprise.  It  was  suggested  in  rejoinder  that  bloody  sac¬ 
rifices  were  not  necessary  to  worship.  The  example  of 
Judaism  was  mentioned,  which  long  ago  gave  up  its  sacri¬ 
fices  of  slain  beasts,  yet  has  not  lost  its  ethical  influence. 
The  answer  was  that  this  might  do  for  vegetarians,  but  not 
for  meat-eaters ;  that  worship  means  the  offering  of  the  best 
that  we  have,  and  that  we  do  not  invite  guests  to  dinner 
and  omit  the  meat  courses.  China  needs  a  prophet  Micah 
to  proclaim  the  worthlessness  of  forms,  to  teach  the  people 
that  the  sacrifice  of  “  thousands  of  rams  and  tens  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  rivers  of  oil”  are  not  needed  to  purchase  the  favor 
of  God,  but  that  true  worship  consists  in  the  practice  of 


Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 


287 


justice,  mercy  and  piety.13  A  Chinese  St.  Paul  is  wanted  to 
allegorize  the  old  ritual  and  substitute  spiritual  for  material 
offerings. 


THE  ETHICS  OF  CONFUCIANISM 

On  the  whole  the  influence  of  Confucianism  has  been 
beneficial.  It  has  promoted  peace  and  good  order  in  society 
and  encouraged  moral  living  in  the  individual.  It  has 
allowed  the  widest  latitude  in  philosophical  speculation.  It 
has  never  formulated  an  authoritative  creed.  It  places 
no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  research  nor  prevents  the  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  the  conclusions  of  modern  science.  Neither  has 
its  worship  been  a  mere  matter  of  form.  The  Book  of 
History  says :  ‘  ‘  The  spirits  are  not  always  favorable ;  they 
accept  only  the  worship  of  the  sincere.  ’  ’ 14  Sickness,  pov¬ 
erty,  drought  and  war,  it  teaches,  are  sent  as  punishments 
for  sin.  ‘  ‘  The  ways  of  the  Most  High  are  not  invariable ; 
upon  the  good  He  bestows  blessing  a  hundred  fold;  upon 
the  evil  He  visits  a  hundred  fold  calamity.  ” 15  It  is  a 
religion  that  emphasizes  the  five  virtues:  mercy,  justice, 
piety,  wisdom  and  honesty.  It  aims  to  strengthen  the  three 
cords  of  society:  the  tie  between  ruler  and  subject,  that 
between  parents  and  children,  and  that  between  husband 
and  wife.  It  thus  promotes  peace  in  the  State  and  seeks 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  home.  Of  the  lofty  sentiments 
inculcated  many  have  already  been  quoted  from  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  Confucius.  To  these  we  may  add  a  few  from  the 
greatest  of  his  disciples.  Mencius  said:  ‘‘Virtue  is  man’s 
restful  habitation;  righteousness  is  his  straight  path.”16 
Mencius  also  combated  the  prevailing  belief  that  suffering 
is  always  a  punishment  for  sin.  He  said:  “When  God  is 
about  to  call  a  man  to  some  great  undertaking,  He  first 
excites  his  resolution  by  bitter  suffering  and  wearies  his 
sinews  and  bones  with  toil.  He  starves  his  body  and  im¬ 
poverishes  him.  He  causes  all  he  does  to  fail.  Thus  He 

13  Micah  vi:8. 

14  Shu  King  III,  T  'ai  Chia. 

is  Shu  King  III:  I  Hsiin. 

16  Mencius.  Book  IV.  Li  Lou,  Part  I,  Chap.  X:2. 


288  Confucianism  as  a  State  Religion 

stimulates  his  mind,  hardens  his  resolution,  and  supplies 
his  deficiencies.  ’  ’ 17  Again :  1  ‘  The  path  is  at  hand ;  we 
seek  it  afar.  ’  ’ 18  1  ‘  The  great  man  is  one  who  does  not  lose 
his  child  heart.”19  “Although  one  may  be  a  wicked 
man,  yet  if  he  adjusts  the  wrong,  fasts  and  bathes  he  may 
offer  sacrifice  to  God.  ” 20  “  God  sees  as  the  people  see ; 

God  hears  as  the  people  hear.”21  This  last,  however,  is 
a  quotation  from  the  Book  of  History.  Mencius  was  greater 
than  his  Master  in  some  respects.  He  had  more  sympathy 
with  the  common  people,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  very 
foundation  of  the  State. 

17  Ibid.  Book  VI.  Kao  Tzu,  Part  II,  Chap.  IV:2. 

is  Ibid.  Book  IV.  Li  Lou,  Part  I,  Chap.  XI. 

is  Ibid.  Book  IV.  Li  Lou,  Part  II,  Chap.  XII. 

20  Ibid.  Book  IV.  Li  Lou,  Part  II,  Chap.  XXV:  2. 

21  Ibid.  Book  V.  Wang  Chang,  Part  I,  Chap.  V:8. 


11!  ... 


CHAPTER  XIV 


CHINESE  BUDDHISM 

Earnestness  is  the  path  of  nirvana;  thoughtlessness  the  path  of 
death. — The  Dhammapada. 

On  New  Year’s  day,  1914,  I  was  in  Colombo,  the  chief 
port  of  the  Island  of  Ceylon.  It  was  a  brilliant  day  and 
intensely  hot — too  hot,  indeed,  to  go  into  the  snn  without 
a  sun-helmet  or  umbrella.  The  glare  of  the  street,  too, 
was  very  trying  to  the  eyes.  But  we  went  ashore  properly 
protected,  and  rode  out  to  a  celebrated  Buddhist  shrine, 
the  Temple  of  Kelaniya,  five  miles  from  the  city  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kelani  River. 

As  we  passed  through  the  city  we  stopped  to  admire  a 
great  banyan  tree  whose  branches  covered  a  circle  of  some¬ 
thing  like  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  Here  and  there  a 
branch  shot  downward  and  entered  the  ground,  forming 
a  support  and  new  source  of  nourishment  to  the  spreading 
tree  above.  The  whole  resembled  a  natural  colonnade. 
This  tree  is  to  the  Buddhist  a  sacred  emblem,  the  symbol 
of  his  faith,  for  under  it — the  Bodhi  tree — the  Master 
Gautama,  the  “Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Sakya,”  attained  to 
enlightenment,  and,  like  it,  his  great  religion  has  marched 
through  Asia,  putting  down  a  new  root  and  starting  a  new 
growth  in  each  country  which  it  has  entered. 

The  ride  to  Kelani  over  the  smooth  roads,  shaded  by  the 
dark  foliage  of  tropical  groves,  was  a  delightful  one,  and 
the  temple  was  particularly  interesting  because  the  earliest 
form  of  Buddhism  still  persists  in  Ceylon.  We  wanted  to 
compare  this  shrine  with  those  which  we  had  seen  in  China 
and  Japan. 

Kelani  Temple  consisted  of  a  group  of  unpretentious 
brick  buildings  that  had  been  white-washed.  The  most 

289 


290 


Chinese  Buddhism 


prominent  was  a  bottle-shaped  dagoba  of  some  fifty  feet 
in  diameter  and  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  It  was 
supposed  to  cover  a  portion  of  the  ashes  of  the  Buddha. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  enclosure  was  the  assembly 
hall,  which  is  an  open  pavilion — a  platform  of  tile  sheltered 
by  a  roof  supported  upon  numerous  pillars.  There  were 
no  walls.  Here  the  monks  gathered  at  stated  seasons  for 
instruction  and  conference. 

The  central  building  contained  pictures  of  the  Buddha 
similar  to  those  in  China  and  Japan,  except  that  the  halo 
behind  the  head  was  made  to  represent  the  flattened  head 
of  the  cobra  de  capello,  the  head  proper  and  the  hood 
taking  the  appearance  of  a  trefoil.  The  cobra  was  the 
protector  of  Buddha,  and  this  is  perhaps  the  origin  of  the 
halo. 

In  the  Bodhi  tree  and  the  hooded  cobra  many  scholars 
find  traces  of  that  ancient  tree  and  serpent  worship  which 
is  common  to  so  many  lands.  Buddhism  has  always  been 
tolerant  of  local  superstitions,  and  probably  adopted  and 
re-interpreted  the  story  of  the  tree  and  the  serpent,  just 
as  our  own  religion  has  adopted  and  Christianized  so  many 
of  the  festivals  of  the  ancient  Romans  and  other  Europeans. 

When  we  came  away  from  the  temple  we  bought  as 
souvenirs  some  verses  of  a  Buddhist  sutra,  written,  as  all 
the  earliest  Indian  books  were,  on  palm  leaves. 


THE  BUDDHIST  LEGEND 

The  story  of  Buddha  is  well  known  in  its  general  out¬ 
lines,  but  it  may  be  worth  while  to  recall  the  principal 
events  of  his  life. 

He  is  said  to  have  been  an  Indian  Prince,  Siddartha. 
His  mother,  Maya,  a  young  bride,  dreamed  of  his  coming 
from  Heaven.  She  miraculously  conceived  and  bore  a 
son,  the  re-incarnate  Buddha.  There  were  many  marvelous 
manifestations  at  his  entrance  into  the  world.  Immediately 
upon  his  birth  he  stood  upright,  took  seven  steps,  then 
turned  to  the  four  quarters  and  said:  4 ‘Now  only  I  am 


Chinese  Buddhism 


291 


born  this  once  to  be  the  savior  of  the  world.  ”  Forthwith 
two  streams  of  water  fell  from  heaven  upon  him  in  baptism. 
The  devas  sang  and  foretold  that  he  would  deliver  the 
world,  and  unite  all  kings  under  his  sway.  An  old  seer 
came  to  the  palace,  took  him  in  his  arms,  and  predicted 
that  he  would  be  a  great  teacher.  When  once  instructed 
he  excelled  all  his  teachers.1 

He  grew  to  manhood  and  at  seventeen  was  married  to 
Yashodara.  But  he  was  not  satisfied.  The  misery  of  the 
world  oppressed  him.  One  day,  accompanied  by  his 
charioteer,  he  drove  out  the  east  gate  of  the  city  intending 
to  go  to  a  pleasure  garden.  He  met  an  old  man  with  white 
hair  and  crooked  back,  and  thought  with  sadness  of  the 
rapidity  with  which  men  grow  old.  He  returned  home 
depressed.  Another  day  he  drove  out  the  south  gate 
and  met  a  sick  man  with  swollen  features  and  loathsome 
eruptions.  Again  he  returned  depressed  to  his  palace. 
The  third  time  he  went  out  the  west  gate  and  saw  a  dead 
man  being  carried  to  his  grave,  while  his  careless  relatives 
followed  chatting  and  laughing.  The  horror  of  it  all  ap¬ 
palled  him.  The  last  journey  was  outside  the  north  gate, 
where  he  met  a  beggar  monk  with  bowl  and  staff,  who 
taught  him  to  abandon  the  world  and  its  pleasures. 

After  deciding  to  try  the  path  of  asceticism  he  forsook 
his  home  and  went  to  a  distant  spot  beside  a  river,  where 
for  six  long  years  he  lived  in  abject  poverty,  scarcely 
eating  at  all.  This  was  unsatisfactory.  He  arose  one  day, 
bathed,  and  went  to  sit  under  a  bodhi  tree.  There  he  was 
tempted  of  the  devil,  but  triumphed  and  attained  to  en¬ 
lightenment,  from  which  circumstance  he  is  called  the 
Buddha,  or  “enlightened  one.”  This  is  the  tradition  as 
recorded  in  the  Chinese  Buddhist  scriptures.  It  is  proper 
to  say  that  some  of  these  stories,  which  remind  us  of  the 
Christian  gospels,  are  unknown  to  the  Southern  Buddhist 
tradition. 

Once  enlightened  the  Buddha  began  to  teach.  The  first 
truth,  so  he  declared,  is  that  life  is  sorrow.  As  Edwin 
Arnold  phrased  it  in  his  Light  of  Asia : 

i  Buddhism  in  China,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Beal,  p.  74. 


292 


Chinese  Buddhism 


The  first  truth  is  of  sorrow,  Be  not  mocked! 

Life,  which  ye  prize,  is  long-drawn  agony; 

Only  its  pains  abide;  its  pleasures  are 
As  birds  that  light,  and  fly. 

The  second  truth  is  that  the  cause  of  sorrow  is  desire.  The 
third  is  that  the  cure  for  sorrow  is  the  suppression  of 
desire.  The  fourth  truth  sets  forth  the  method  by  which 
desire  can  be  suppressed.  It  is  an  eight-fold  path;  right 
understanding,  right  wisdom,  right  speech,  right  action, 
right  manner  of  life,  right  helps,  right  recollection,  and 
right  meditation.  This  eight-fold  path  leads  to  nirvana. 
The  passage  to  nirvana  is  likened  to  the  falling  of  the  dew- 
drop  into  the  sea.  As  ‘  ‘  The  dew-drop  slips  into  the  shining 
sea,”  and  is  swallowed  up  in  its  wide  waste  of  waters,  so 
the  individual  soul  sinks  into  the  great  sea  of  life  and 
becomes  one  with  the  all  soul.  By  the  method  outlined 
one  thus  escapes  the  endless  round  of  transmigration  which 
binds  man  to  the  earthly  life. 

Early  Buddhism  is  said  to  have  been  atheistic,  because 
it  points  to  no  almighty  over-ruling  God  for  deliverance. 
In  fact  it  teaches  the  superiority  of  the  Buddha  to  the 
gods — i.e.,  there  is  a  fate  which  even  the  gods  cannot  escape. 

But  it  is  hardly  fair  to  call  Buddha  an  atheist,  and  a 
religion  of  atheism  is  well-nigh  self-contradictory.  What 
Buddha  refused  to  do  was  to  frame  a  theory  of  the  origin 
of  all  things.  For  even  a  little  child,  when  you  tell  him 
that  God  made  all  things,  will  ask  ‘  ‘  But  who  made  God  ?  ’  ’ 
So  when  Gautama  was  asked  the  question  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  world  he  was  silent.  Afterwards  he  said :  ‘  ‘  Only  a 
Buddha  can  understand  this.”  Whatever  we  may  think 
of  the  pessimism  of  Buddhism — whatever  fault  we  may 
find  with  its  cure  for  the  miseries  of  the  world — we  must 
admit  that  in  some  of  its  teaching  it  has  wonderfully  an¬ 
ticipated  some  of  the  conclusions  of  modern  science.  The 
existence  of  multitudes  of  worlds,  all  controlled  by  fixed 
and  immutable  law,  the  evolution  of  life  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest  orders,  the  relationship  of  each  to  the  whole, 
the  constant  birth  and  destruction  of  worlds,  a  continual 
emerging  from  chaos  and  successive  returns  thereto,  and 


Chinese  Buddhism 


293 


the  spontaneous  variation  which  is  the  origin  of  species; 
in  all  this  the  modern  evolutionary  philosophy  has  been  in 
a  humble  way  foreshadowed.2 


BUDDHIST  ETHICS 

In  its  ethical  teaching  Buddhism  takes  a  high  rank.  Here 
are  its  ten  commandments  as  commonly  translated:3 

Thou  shalt  not  kill. 

Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

Thou  shalt  not  lie. 

Thou  shalt  not  drink  intoxicating  drink. 

Thou  shalt  not  defame. 

Thou  shalt  not  boast. 

Thou  shalt  not  be  stingy. 

Thou  shalt  not  be  angry. 

Thou  shalt  not  revile  the  three  precious  ones. 

The  Dhammapada  contains  a  multitude  of  wise  precepts 
beautifully  phrased:4 

If  a  man  speaks  or  acts  with  an  evil  thought,  pain  follows  him 
as  the  wheel  follows  the  foot  of  the  ox  that  draws  the  carriage. 

He  who  wishes  to  put  on  the  yellow  dress  without  having 
cleansed  himself  from  sin,  who  disregards  also  temperance  and 
truth,  he  is  unworthy  of  the  yellow  dress. 

The  thoughtless  man,  even  if  he  can  recite  a  large  portion 

of  the  law,  but  is  not  a  doer  of  it,  has  no  share  in  the  priest¬ 

hood,  but  is  like  a  cow-herd  counting  the  cows  of  others. 

Earnestness  is  the  path  of  nirvana;  thoughtlessness  the  path 
of  death. 

Like  a  beautiful  flower,  full  of  color  but  without  scent,  are 
the  fine  but  fruitless  words  of  him  who  does  not  act  accordingly. 

The  scent  of  flowers  does  not  travel  against  the  wind,  neither 
that  of  sandal-wood;  but  the  odor  of  good  deeds  travels  even 
against  the  wind. 

2  See  tl  Three  Lectures  on  Buddhism, ,  ’  by  Ernest  J.  Eitel,  pp.  65 
and  66. 

3  See  “  Initiation  into  Monkhood  ” — infra — for  ten  vows  taken  on 
entering  the  order. 

4  Translation  of  Max  Muller,  in  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Yol.  X. 


294 


Chinese  Buddhism 


Long  is  the  night  to  him  who  is  awake;  long  is  a  mile  to 
him  who  is  tired,  long  is  life  to  the  foolish  who  do  not  know  the 
true  law. 

If  a  fool  be  associated  with  a  wise  man  even  all  his  life,  he 
will  perceive  the  truth  as  little  as  a  spoon  perceives  the  taste 
of  soup. 

One  is  the  road  that  leads  to  wealth,  another  the  path  that 
leads  to  nirvana. 

Well-makers  lead  the  water  whither  they  will;  fletchers  bend 
the  arrow,  carpenters  shape  the  log  of  wood;  but  wise  people 
fashion  themselves. 

Even  the  gods  envy  him  whose  senses,  like  horses  well  broken 
in  by  the  driver,  have  been  subdued,  who  is  free  from  pride  and 
from  appetite. 

If  one  conquer  in  battle  a  thousand  times  a  thousand  men,  and 
if  another  conquer  himself,  he  is  the  greatest  of  conquerors. 

Let  us  live  happity,  then,  not  hating  those  that  hate  us. 

Let  a  man  overcome  anger  by  love;  let  him  overcome  evil  by 
good ;  let  him  overcome  the  greedy  by  liberality,  the  liar  by  truth. 

The  man  who  gives  himself  to  drinking  intoxicating  liquors, 
he,  even  in  this  world,  digs  up  his  own  root. 

A  multitude  of  other  sayings  equally  wise  and  beautiful 
may  be  culled  from  the  Buddhist  scriptures. 


BUDDHIST  PROPAGANDA 

Sakyamuni,  i.e.,  the  “Sage  of  the  Sakyas,”  known  also 
as  Prince  Siddartha,  the  “perfect  one,”  and  as  a  religious 
teacher  called  Gautama,  was  born  perhaps  in  600  B.C.  and 
died  probably  about  543  B.C. 

For  many  years  his  followers  were  found  only  in  his 
native  kingdom,  but  in  the  chaos  which  resulted  from  the 
invasion  of  Alexander  the  Great,  Tchandraguptra,  whom 
the  Greeks  know  as  Sandrokottos,  a  man  of  low  birth,  was 
enabled  to  establish  an  empire  which  swallowed  up  the 
rival  kingdoms  of  India.  Being  an  upstart  and  frowned 
upon  by  the  high  caste  Brahmins,  he  gave  his  sympathy 
and  support  to  Buddhism.  His  grandson,  Ashoka,  con¬ 
tinued  the  favor  of  the  state  to  the  new  religion  and  estab¬ 
lished  a  board  of  foreign  missions,  so  that  Buddhism  spread 
rapidly  in  all  directions.  About  275  B.C.  it  was  introduced 
into  Ceylon,  and  from  thence  it  was  extended  to  Java, 


Chinese  Buddhism 


295 


Sumatra,  Burmah  and  Siam.  It  also  spread  northwards 
into  Cashmere,  Nepaul  and  Central  Asia.  At  a  general 
council  held  at  Pataliputra  in  242  B.C.  the  Buddhist 
church  split  into  two  branches,  the  Northern  and  Southern ; 
and  after  Buddhism  was  suppressed  in  India,  in  178  B.C. 
these  two  schools,  being  without  communication,  developed 
along  different  lines. 

The  Buddhism  of  Ceylon,  Burmah  and  Siam  still  remains 
much  as  at  the  beginning.  Northern  Buddhism,  on  the 
contrary,  adopted  many  local  superstitions  and  was  influ¬ 
enced  by  various  philosophical  and  religious  teachings. 

About  250  B.C.  certain  apostles  of  the  Buddhist  faith 
are  said  to  have  carried  its  teaching  to  north-western  China, 
but  this  date  is  uncertain.  At  any  rate  little  impression 
was  made  upon  China  at  that  time.  The  apostles  numbered 
eighteen,  of  whom  sixteen  were  Indians  and  two  Chinese. 
They  are  worshiped  to-day  in  every  Buddhist  temple  in 
China.  This  much  we  know,  however,  that  for  two  cen¬ 
turies  before  Christ,  China  was  engaged  in  constant  war¬ 
fare  with  the  tribes  of  Central  Asia,  and  undoubtedly  the 
Chinese  became  acquainted  with  Buddhism,  which  at  that 
time  flourished  in  those  regions.  From  one  of  these  expe¬ 
ditions  they  appear  to  have  brought  back  as  loot  a  golden 
image  of  Buddha,  and  there  is,  therefore,  nothing  improb¬ 
able  in  the  story  that  the  Emperor  Ming  Ti  dreamed  one 
night,  in  A.D.  61,  that  this  golden  image  came  into  the 
palace.  The  brother  of  the  Emperor  appears  to  have  been 
favorably  disposed  towards  Buddhism,  and  he  persuaded 
the  Emperor  to  send  a  deputation  to  bring  Buddhist 
teachers  to  China.  They  arrived  about  A.D.  65  or  70  with 
a  sandal-wood  image  and  one  sacred  book. 

Slowly  the  faith  spread  over  the  country.  Oftentimes 
it  was  persecuted  and  all  but  crushed  by  Confucian  oppo¬ 
sition,  but  to-day  its  monasteries  are  found  everywhere 
and  its  followers  are  divided  among  numerous  sects.  For 
besides  the  great  schism  in  the  Buddhist  church,  242  B.C., 
resulting  in  northern  and  southern  branches,  other  nu¬ 
merous  divisions  occurred.  There  are  more  than  twenty 
sects  in  the  southern  church  and  not  less  than  ten  in  China. 


296 


Chinese  Buddhism 


AMIDHISM 

In  this  transfer  from  India  to  China  the  religion  of 
Gautama  has  been  greatly  modified,  as  I  have  intimated. 
The  most  flourishing  sect  in  China  is  that  of  Amidha  Bud¬ 
dha,  so  different  in  its  teaching  from  that  of  early  Bud¬ 
dhism  that  some  would  classify  it  as  a  separate  religion. 
Some  believe  that  it  has  been  influenced  by  Christianity, 
perhaps  through  a  Persian  medium. 

Over  and  above  all  the  Buddhas  it  places  one  who  is 
eternal,  omnipresent,  perfect  in  virtue,  and  who  has  com¬ 
passion  upon  the  weak  and  erring  and  delivers  them  by 
his  power  and  grace.  Him  even  the  Buddhas  worship.  It 
teaches  that  there  is  another  Buddha  yet  to  come,  Maitreya, 
a  Messiah  such  as  was  expected  by  the  Jews  and  by  the 
Zoroastrians.  He  will  plant  faith  in  the  supreme  Amitabha 
(Omito  Fo).  It  teaches,  too,  not  that  one  should  save  him¬ 
self  from  sorrow  by  ascetic  practices,  but  that  he  should 
trust  in  Amidha  Js  help^for  his  own  salvation  and  also  that 
he  should  endeavor  to  save  others. 

Instead  of  an  unconscious  nirvana  it  holds  out  the  hope 
of  immortality  in  a  paradise  of  happiness  in  the  Western 
Heaven.  These  doctrines,  so  foreign  to  early  Buddhism, 
began  to  flourish  about  A.D.  100.  This  popular  sect  is 
known  as  the  Lotus  Sect,  or  the  Pure  Land  Sect. 

When  I  first  went  to  China  I  made  my  home  in  a  little 
temple  of  this  sect  in  the  city  of  Nanking  known  as  ‘ 4  Thistle 
Abbey.”  It  was  a  retired  spot  among  the  hills  and  bam¬ 
boo  groves  of  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  within  the 
walls,  but  a  mile  or  more  from  the  city  streets.  Our  near¬ 
est  neighbors  were  the  dead.  All  around  us,  covering  the 
hills  in  every  direction,  were  graves;  some  of  them  the 
tombs  of  the  well-to-do,  well  kept,  surrounded  by  walls 
or  banks  of  turf  and  shaded  by  shrubs  or  groves  of  trees. 
Others,  the  graves  of  the  poor,  were  neglected  and  over¬ 
grown  with  wild  grass,  in  some  instances  so  shallow  that 
the  dogs  had  torn  open  the  coffins  and  scattered  the  bones 
on  the  hillsides.  The  abbey  had  been  built  by  one  or  two 


Chinese  Buddhism 


297 


wealthy  families  who  wanted  to  make  a  pious  use  of  their 
money  and  who  desired  masses  said  for  the  souls  of  their 
dead.  The  solitary  monk  in  charge  had  little  else  to  do 
save  to  gather  rents  from  the  lands  attached  to  the  abbey 
for  its  support.  He  was  a  good-natured,  generous  person 
but  extremely  weak  morally.  He  attended  to  his  prayers 
at  stated  hours,  not  only  in  the  day  but  throughout  the 
night  also.  His  fondness  for  opium  and  his  addiction  to 
grosser  forms  of  sin  soon  cost  him  his  post. 

We  had  a  part  of  the  temple  fitted  up  according  to 
European  and  American  ideas.  The  brick  pavements  were 
covered  with  wooden  flooring.  The  rooms  were  ceiled  and 
plastered;  chimneys  were  built,  and  glass  replaced  the 
paper  in  the  window  lattices.  To  this  day  the  resinous  odor 
of  pine  shavings  at  once  suggest  to  me  the  fragrance  of 
burning  incense,  the  tinkle  of  the  altar  bell  in  the  night 
watches,  and  brings  to  memory  the  happy  experiences  of 
those  days. 

THE  GODDESS  OF  MERCY 

One  of  the  saints  worshiped  by  this  sect  is  Kwanyin, 
popularly  known  as  the  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Some  five  miles 
north  of  Nanking  outside  the  Shengtzu  Men,  or  Gate  of 
Divine  Strategy,  is  a  little  village  known  as  Kwanyin  Men 
— the  Gate  of  Kwanyin.  The  village  is  on  the  bank  of  the 
Yangtze  River,  and  guards  a  pass  through  the  range  of 
hills  known  as  the  Tiger  Mountain.  The  range  is  very 
precipitous  on  the  river  side  and  is  full  of  caves,  commonly 
known  as  the  Twelve  Caves.  In  one  of  the  caves  is  an 
image  of  Kwanyin,  but  it  is  the  likeness  of  a  man,  not  a 
woman.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  belief  that  Kwanyin 
has  had  three  incarnations — the  la^t  time  as  a  woman.  She 
has,  therefore,  three  birthdays  every  year  which  are  all 
kept  by  her  devout  worshipers.  She  is  not  a  Buddha  but 
a  Bodhisatva — from  choice.  She  declines  to  accept  nirvana, 
because  she  has  compassion  upon  the  sinful  and  sorrowing 
and  desires  to  save  them.  Therefore,  she  remains  within 
the  power  of  the  wheel  of  change,  i.e.,  she  is  subject  to 


298 


Chinese  Buddhism 


re-incarnation,  birth  and  death.  Her  story  is  a  beautiful 
one.  She  loved  the  religious  life  and  refused  to  marry, 
although  her  royal  father  promised  the  throne  to  the  hus¬ 
band  of  her  choice.  She  entered  the  White  Sparrow  Con¬ 
vent  and  became  a  nun.  The  most  menial  tasks  were  given 
her  to  perform,  but  the  dragons  drew  water  for  her  and 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  carried  her  wood.  In  his  anger 
the  father  burned  the  convent,  but  her  prayers  brought 
rain  that  extinguished  the  flames.  She  was  forced  to  return 
home  and  was  given  her  choice  of  marriage  or  death.  She 
still  refused  to  marry  and  was  put  to  death.  She  descended 
into  hell,  but  at  her  approach  hell  became  a  paradise  of 
lilies.  King  Yama,  the  ruler  of  hell,  begged  her  to  go  away 
so  that  he  could  make  evil  doers  suffer.  She  received  the 
gift  of  immortality  but  refused  that  of  nirvana,  and  came 
back  to  earth  that  she  might  comfort  the  sorrowing,  soothe 
the  afflicted  and  deliver  the  sinful.  Everywhere  in  China 
temples  are  erected  in  her  honor.  Everywhere  she  is  loved 
and  worshiped.  Her  pity,  her  mercy,  her  love,  bring  all 
the  afflicted  to  her  altar,  and  her  rosary  is  recited  in  a 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  homes.5 

One  of  the  most  common  forms  of  the  cult  is  that  of 
the  Kwanyin  who  gives  sons.  She  is  represented  standing 
on  the  lotus  holding  a  child  in  her  arms.  The  desire  for 
sons  is  so  strong  that  many  devout  women  frequent  her 
altars  in  petition  for  this  gift,  and  often  you  see  the  altars 
adorned  with  votive  offerings,  embroidered  slippers  for  the 
goddess  or  miniature  babies,  little  dolls  dedicated  to  the 
gracious  saint.  There  is  such  a  striking  resemblance  in  her 
image  to  that  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  altars  to  Mary  find  ready  worshipers  among  the 
Chinese,  and  good  Abbe  Hue  thought  the  devil  was  imi¬ 
tating  the  true  religion  in  order  to  delude  souls. 

Once  while  waiting  at  Kwanyin  Men  for  the  ferry  to 
take  me  over  the  Yangtze  I  went  into  a  temple  and  sat 
down  to  chat  with  the  monk  in  charge,  who  kindly  brought 
me  a  cup  of  tea.  While  we  talked,  a  stranger,  a  boatman, 

5  From  the  translation  of  the  Life  of  Kwanyin,  Goddess  of  Mercy, 
by  Bose  Sickler  Williams. 


Chinese  Buddhism 


299 


came  in  apparently  in  great  distress.  He  put  his  offering 
in  the  box,  bought  a  bundle  of  incense  (which  was  lighted 
and  put  upon  the  altar),  kotowed  and  prayed.  Then  he 
drew  his  lot.  The  monk  went  to  the  corresponding  drawer 
and  brought  him  the  answer  to  his  prayer.  The  boatman 
asked  him  to  read  it.  The  monk  said :  4  ‘  About  what  were 
you  praying  ?  ’  ’  He  replied,  ‘  ‘  About  sickness  in  my  family. 
My  wife  is  lying  very  ill  in  the  boat.”  “Well, ”  said  the 
monk  evasively,  “she  will  get  better.”  “But  read  the 
answer,”  said  the  boatman.  The  monk  flushed  and  sent 
for  the  monastery  cook,  who  could  read.  The  cook  read 
it  to  the  boatman.  The  portion  referring  to  illness  said, 
“The  person  who  is  ill  will  get  better  if  a  good  physician 
is  called.”  “Where  shall  I  find  a  good  physician?”  en¬ 
quired  the  boatman.  “You  can’t  expect  the  god  to  tell 
you  what  to  do  and  find  a  physician  too,”  said  the  monk 
in  an  angry  tone. 

Kwanyin  is  frequently  represented  as  standing  on  a  rock 
in  the  midst  of  the  sea  and  rescuing  men  and  women  from 
the  engulfing  waves.  This  represents  the  sea  of  misery  and 
sin. 

BODHIDHARMA 

In  one  of  the  Twelve  Caves,  far  up  the  mountain  side, 
reached  by  a  path  that  is  very  little  frequented,  there  is 
an  image  of  a  celebrated  Buddhist  saint,  Tamo,  the  first 
of  the  Chinese  patriarchs.  The  face  and  the  heavy  black 
beard  are  decidedly  non-Chinese.  Tamo  is  in  Sanscrit 
Dharma.  Bodhidharma  came  to  China  from  India  during 
the  reign  of  Wu  Ti,  the  first  Emperor  of  the  Liang  Dynasty, 
about  A.D.  526.  When  he  arrived  in  Nanking,  then  the 
capital  of  China,  tradition  says  that  the  Emperor  asked 
him  about  Heaven  and  Hell.  The  saint  replied,  “I  am 
Heaven;  you  are  Hell.”  This  shocked  the  Emperor;  but 
he  was  such  a  zealous  Buddhist  that  a  few  years  later  he 
resigned  his  throne,  like  Charles  V  of  Spain,  and  retired 
to  a  monastery  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  The  Emperor 
said  to  Dharma,  “I  have  all  my  life  been  building  temples, 


300 


Chinese  Buddhism 


copying  sacred  books,  and  admitting  new  monks  to  take 
the  vows;  how  much  merit  may  I  be  supposed  to  have 
accumulated?”  “None, ”  said  Dharma.  “Why  not?” 
asked  the  Emperor.  “All  this,”  replied  the  saint,  “is  but 
the  insignificant  effect  of  an  imperfect  cause,  not  complete 
in  itself.  It  is  the  shadow  that  follows  the  substance  and 
is  without  real  existence.”  “Then  what  is  real  merit?” 
asked  the  Emperor.  “Purity  and  enlightenment,  depth 
and  completeness;  being  wrapped  in  thought  while  sur¬ 
rounded  with  vacancy  and  stillness.  Such  merit  cannot  be 
obtained  by  worldly  means,”  was  the  reply.  Dharma  was 
dissatisfied  with  his  visit  to  Nanking  and  crossed  the 
Yangtze.  Tradition  says  that  he  floated  over  the  river 
on  a  reed,  and  this  has  become  a  favorite  theme  of  Chinese 
artists.  From  Nanking  he  made  his  way  to  Loyang,  near 
the  Yellow  River,  and  at  that  time  in  the  Kingdom  of  Wei. 
In  a  monastery  there  he  sat  with  his  face  to  the  wall  for 
nine  years.  When  he  died  he  was  placed  in  a  coffin,  and 
a  few  days  later  a  disciple  came  to  view  the  remains  and 
found  the  dead  man  with  one  shoe  in  his  hands.  “Whither 
goest  thou?”  asked  the  disciple.  “To  the  Western 
Heaven,  *  ’  the  dead  man  answered.  Again  a  few  days  later 
the  coffin  was  opened  and  lo,  the  saint  had  disappeared. 
One  shoe  only  remained  in  the  coffin.  In  popular  repre¬ 
sentation  he  is  shown  carrying  one  shoe.  The  shoe  left 
behind  was,  it  is  said,  preserved  many  years  as  a  sacred 
relic,  but  was  stolen  during  the  T  ’ang  Dynasty  and  nobody 
knows  where  it  is  to-day. 

A  little  tract  circulated  by  the  monk  in  this  cave  of  Taomo 
contains  some  curious  teaching  which  savors  of  Christian 
influence.  It  condemns  the  Buddhist  doctrine  of  an  end¬ 
less  round  of  metempsychosis,  and  its  theory  of  salvation 
by  abstraction,  and  declares  that  to  attain  salvation  we 
must  bathe  in  blood.  The  young  monk  seeking  instruction 
is  told  that  that  which  he  seeks  is  One  and  no  more,  with¬ 
out  form  or  shape,  and  the  source  of  all  things  in  heaven 
and  earth,  and  he  is  commanded  to  preach  this  doctrine 
until  it  has  pervaded  the  whole  earth.  He  asks  how  to 
obtain  an  upright  disposition,  and  is  told  not  to  seek  it  out- 


Chinese  Buddhism 


301 


side  himself,  that  it  is  not  by  ascending  into  heaven  nor 
descending  into  the  abyss,  but  that  he  must  find  it  in  his 
own  heart. 

The  meditative  school  or  sect  established  by  Bodhidharma 
scorns  the  worship  of  images  and  the  use  of  books  and  all 
ceremonies.  In  a  conversation  with  a  young  monk  Dharma 
asked  him  what  he  was  studying.  “The  Law,”  said  the 
young  man.  “I  see  no  law,”  said  the  patriarch.  “All 
that ’s  white  is  paper  and  all  that ’s  black  is  ink.  ’  ’  Dharma ’s 
manner  of  life  and  scorn  of  culture  remind  one  of  Simon 
Stylites  and  other  pillar  saints  who  sought  salvation  in 
silent  meditation  in  extraordinary  positions. 

Somewhat  similar  to  this  sect  is  the  Wu  Wei  Chiao,  or 
“Do  Nothing  Sect,”  which  originated  in  the  province  of 
Shantung,  where  so  many  religious  societies  have  had 
their  origin.  Its  members  are  a  highly  moral  people  and 
total  abstainers  from  wine  and  tobacco.  They  revere 
Buddha  but  decline  to  worship  him.  They  are  quietists  in 
religious  practices,  have  no  use  for  forms  and  ceremonies, 
and  none  for  images. 

LAMAISM 

• 

Upon  the  introduction  of  Buddhism  into  Tibet  it  became 
very  much  corrupted  by  the  incorporation  of  Shamanist 
superstitions,  and  this  form  of  Buddhism  is  that  which  is 
prevalent  in  Mongolia  and  in  North  China.  This  sect 
is  known  as  the  Lama  sect.  The  Lamaists  have  a  very 
compact  organization  reminding  us  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  They  have  two  popes  in  Tibet — one,  the  Dalai 
Lama,  is  the  civil  head  of  the  church  and  ruler  of  Tibet ; 
the  other,  the  Dashilumpo  Lama,  is  the  religious  chief  of 
the  system.  China,  including  Mongolia  and  Tibet,  is  di¬ 
vided  into  districts  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  Hutukhtu, 
corresponding  in  authority  somewhat  to  an  archbishop. 
There  is  one  in  Peking.  The  Hutukhtu  in  Urga,  in  1911, 
become  Emperor  of  independent  Outer  Mongolia.  To-day 
his  capital  is  in  possession  of  a  Russian  Soviet  army.  Al¬ 
together  there  are  160  of  these  Hutukhtus.  Each  one,  as 


302 


Chinese  Buddhism 


well  as  the  Dalai  Lama  and  the  Dashilumpo  Lama,  is  held 
to  be  the  reincarnation  of  his  predecessor.  The  method 
of  selection  may  be  explained  by  an  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Dalai  Lama  is  chosen.  He  is  regarded  as  the 
incarnation  of  Avaloketishvara.  When  he  dies  a  search 
is  at  once  made  for  the  baby  into  whom  his  spirit  has 
passed.  Certain  marks  are  necessary.  A  number  of  boys 
having  such  marks  are  found.  The  date  of  birth,  their 
parentage,  etc.,  are  recorded.  Their  names,  written  on 
lots,  are  then  placed  in  a  golden  urn,  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  Chinese  Resident  a  lot  is  drawn  from  the  urn  after 
appropriate  ceremonies.  This  is  the  true  incarnate  Dalai 
Lama.  He  is  placed  in  charge  of  ministers  who  act  as  his 
representatives  and  as  regents  of  Tibet,  until  the  child  has 
grown  to  manhood  and  come  of  age.  The  Chinese  have 
been  careful  in  drawing  the  lot  to  see  that  the  child  who 
is  to  rule  Tibet  does  not  belong  to  too  powerful  a  family 
or  to  one  hostile  to  Chinese  policy.  Usually  the  child  of 
a  poor  family  is  drawn,  so  that  the  family  with  all  its 
relatives  will  feel  under  obligation  to  the  Chinese  govern¬ 
ment.  In  Mongolia,  on  the  other  hand,  the  tribal  chiefs 
have  been  careful  to  see  that  the  office  is  kept  in  the  family. 

TRANSMIGRATION 

The  Buddhist  belief  in  reincarnation  is  wide-spread  in 
China.  Some  persons  apparently  hold  it  in  all  sincerity 
and  others  fear  it  may  be  true,  while  the  hard-headed 
skeptics  use  it  as  a  frame-work  for  amusing  stories.  I 
remember  a  beggar  on  the  streets  of  Nanking  many  years 
ago  who  had  lost  one  foot.  The  stump  resembled  a  pig’s 
foot,  and  the  beggar  used  to  relate  that  one  time  in  a  pre¬ 
vious  state  of  existence  he  had  been  a  bad  man,  and  on 
being  reborn  into  the  world  he  was  born  as  a  pig.  He  had 
very  nearly  completed  his  term  of  existence  as  a  pig  when 
he  was  brought  to  an  untimely  death  by  a  butcher,  and  as 
his  period  of  punishment  had  not  yet  quite  expired  he  was 
born  with  one  pig’s  foot. 

Another  instance  is  that  of  the  father  of  a  former 


THE  RELIGIOUS  DANCE,  LAMA  TEMPLE,  PEKING. 


Chinese  Buddhism 


303 


official  in  China  who  has  had  many  dealings  with  foreigners 
in  recent  years.  Mr.  Sheng  was  born  in  Soochow.  'Previ¬ 
ous  to  his  birth  a  Buddhist  monk  lived  in  a  little  temple 
near  by.  When  he  was  about  to  die  he  called  his  mother 
and  said  to  her:  “I  am  dying,  but  do  not  weep  for  me. 
I  shall  be  reborn  very  soon  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Sheng. 
You  must  wait  at  his  gate  and  beg  a  few  cash  from  him 
from  day  to  day.  On  the  day  that  I  am  born  the  servants 
will  try  to  drive  you  away,  saying  they  are  too  busy  to 
wait  upon  you,  that  the  master  has  just  had  a  son  born 
to  him.  But  do  not  go  away.  I  shall  cry  and  make  a  great 
hullabaloo.  The  servants  will  be  distracted  and  say  they 
do  not  know  how  to  stop  that  baby’s  crying.  Then  you 
must  offer  to  quiet  the  baby.  At  first  they  will  not  listen 
to  you  but  after  a  time  they  will  consent  to  bring  you  in, 
and  when  I  see  you  I  will  stop  crying  and  you  shall  be  my 
nurse.”  The  mother  did  as  she  was  told.  Daily  she  went 
begging  at  the  gate  of  Mr.  Sheng.  One  day  the  servants 
told  her  to  go  away — that  a  new  baby  had  come  to  the 
house  and  they  had  no  time  for  her,  but  she  remained  and 
presently  sjie  heard  the  baby  crying.  The  servants  ran 
hither  and  thither  and  tried  in  every  way  to  quiet  the  child, 
but  in  vain.  The  old  woman  said  she  would  quiet  him  but 
no  one  listened  to  her,  until  weary  of  trying  everything 
else  they  brought  in  the  beggar.  At  once  the  child  stopped 
and  the  beggar  became  the  nurse. 

When  the  child  was  six  or  seven  years  of  age  he  went 
out  walking  with  his  nurse,  and  seeing  the  little  temple 
insisted  on  going  in.  The  nurse  took  him  in.  The  child 
said,  ‘  ‘  In  yonder  room  there  is  a  closet ;  let  us  go  there.  ’  ’ 
They  went.  He  pointed  to  the  closet  and  said,  “On  such 
and  such  a  shelf  I  lett  such  a  book.”  They  looked  and 
lo!  it  was  there. 

“Master,  who  did  sin,  this  man  or  his  parents,  that  he 
was  born  blind?”  asked  the  disciples  of  the  Master.  This 
passage  indicates  that  even  among  the  Jews  in  the  time 
of  Christ  the  belief  in  transmigration  was  more  or  less 
prevalent — a  beliet  that  men  suffered  sometimes  for  sins 
committed  in  a  previous  state  of  existence. 


304 


Chinese  Buddhism 


It  is  only  in  the  Lamaist  communities  of  China,  however, 
that  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  has  serious  practical 
results.  These  we  have  seen  in  the  choice  of  rulers.  The 
lamas  are  the  most  ignorant,  and  therefore,  the  most  super¬ 
stitious  monks  in  the  country.  They  are  also  the  most 
depraved  and  the  most  unclean  and  ill-smelling.  Even  in 
China  most  of  the  lamas  are  non-Chinese,  i.e.,  Tibetans, 
Mongols  and  Manchus. 

TEMPLES  AND  SERVICES 

One  of  the  most  famous  lamaseries  is  the  Yung  Ho  Kung 
in  Peking,  a  vast  enclosure  once  a  princely  palace.  It  con¬ 
tains  cells  for  five  hundred  monks  and  five  large  halls  with 
a  multitude  of  smaller  chapels.  It  was  the  birth-place  of 
the  Emperor  Ch ’lenlung,  who  enriched  it  with  many  valu¬ 
able  gifts.  Among  them  are  a  pair  of  enormous  bronze 
lions  and  a  beautiful  censer,  besides  cloisonne  altar-pieces, 
valuable  rugs  and  rich  silk  hangings. 

Prayer-wheels  are  placed  here  and  there  in  the  corridors, 
so  that  visitors  or  inmates  as  they  pass  may  give  them  a 
turn,  and  so  put  several  “Omito  Fus”  to  their  credit.  One 
must  be  careful,  too,  to  turn  the  wheel  the  right  way,  else 
he  may  undo  his  prayers.  Some  turn  with  the  sun  and 
some  m  the  opposite  direction.  There  is  an  image  of 
Amidha  seventy-five  feet  high  in  the  main  hall. 

The  monks,  as  all  Buddhist  monks  do,  carry  their  rosary 
— a  string  of  108  beads — which  they  continually  finger. 
The  most  important  service  m  a  lama  temple  is  that  near 
the  beginning  of  the  New  Year,  which  foreign  visitors  call 
the  “ Devils’  Dance.”  It  is  a  service  to  ward  off  all  calami¬ 
ties  during  the  new  year.  The  morning  is  spent  in  chanting 
prayers  in  Sanscrit.  The  Hutukhtu  sits  cross-legged  upon 
a  throne  and  directs  the  service.  A  small  brass  hand-bell 
rests  upon  the  table  before  him,  which  he  rings  to  stop  the 
droning  chant.  A  tripod  before  the  throne  rests  upon  three 
imitation  skulls  and  holds  an  offering  of  grain.  The  monks 
sit  cross-legged  in  rows  across  the  vast  assembly  hall,  and 
at  intervals  the  neophytes  carry  tea  to  them.  When  the 


Chinese  Buddhism 


305 


prayers  are  said  a  procession  is  formed  which  marches  to 
the  front  court,  where  lamas  in  masques  dance  about  a  tri¬ 
angular  coffin  containing  an  image  of  the  devil.  The 
masques  represent  the  heads  of  horses,  oxen  and  elks.  The 
proctors  who  preserve  order  wear  death’s-head  masques. 
The  devil  of  dough  in  the  coffin  is  threatened  with  a  knife, 
a  bell,  a  lama  sceptre,  and  finally  is  cut  to  pieces,  after 
which  the  lamas  march  about  the  monastery  and  the  service 
is  ended.  The  human  skull  plays  an  important  part  in 
the  service.  Such  skulls  are  sawn  asunder  and  the  upper 
part  used  as  a  cup  for  the  presentation  of  offerings  upon 
the  altar.  One  of  these  skulls,  lined  with  silver,  is  that 
of  a  noted  rebel.  There  is  a  great  deal  that  is  degrading 
in  this  service,  and  generally  this  is  true  of  the  Lamaist 
use  of  charms  and  incantations. 

In  contrast  with  this  is  the  service  at  the  T’an  Che  Ssu, 
some  thirty  miles  west  of  Peking  in  the  mountains.  This 
temple  does  not  belong  to  the  Lama  sect  but  to  another 
form  of  Buddhism.  Here  the  service  is  also  conducted  in 
the  Sanscrit  tongue,  but  is  dignified  and  impressive.  In 
the  old  days  we  used  to  make  the  journey  to  this  monastery 
on  horse-back  or  in  sedan-chairs;  now  we  can  travel  by 
train  to  a  station  within  five  miles  of  the  monastery.  But 
those  five  miles  are  not  easily  done;  one  has  to  climb  over 
a  very  steep  range.  On  reaching  the  summit,  however,  you 
feel  well  repaid  for  the  toilsome  march,  for  the  scenery 
is  beautiful.  You  look  down  into  a  thickly  wooded  valley, 
surrounded  by  mountains  on  all  sides  except  towards  the 
south,  where  it  opens  into  the  plain.  A  stream  of  clear 
water  ripples  over  the  rocks  down  into  the  forest,  and 
following  this  stream  you  are  guided  to  the  vast  pile  of 
buildings  that  make  up  the  monastery.  This,  too,  was 
richly  endowed  by  the  Emperor  Ch’ienlung,  who  planted 
there  a  ginko  tree,  which  is  the  Chinese  substitute  for  the 
banyan.  This  is  still  growing,  and  while  it  does  not  pro¬ 
duce  branches  that  enter  the  ground,  it  does  put  forth  many 
shoots  from  the  roots  which  reach  up  into  the  branches. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  Buddhist 
monasteries,  and  it  is  here  that  many  monks  are  initiated 


306 


Chinese  Buddhism 


into  the  order.  There  are  eighty  guest  rooms,  and  large 
conferences  at  times  assemble  here.  Before  explaining  the 
initiation  service  I  ought  to  describe  the  typical  Buddhist 
temple. 

The  Buddhists  have  done  much  to  cultivate  amongst 
Chinese  a  love  of  natural  scenery.  Except  in  the  cities, 
the  monasteries  are  located  usually  in  the  most  picturesque 
spots  in  the  mountains.  If  possible  a  spot  will  be  chosen 
beside  a  brook  of  clear  running  water.  You  cross  the  brook 
by  an  arched  bridge  of  white  marble.  Before  the  entrance 
to  the  gate-house  there  is  placed  a  pair  of  marble  or  bronze 
lions,  one  on  either  side  of  the  door,  the  male  on  the  left  with 
his  right  fore  paw  resting  on  a  sphere,  the  female  on  the 
right,  her  left  fore  paw  playing  with  a  cub  that  lies  on 
its  back.  The  lion  is  the  emblem  of  Buddha,  an  emblem 
suggested,  it  is  said,  by  his  tribal  name,  Shakya.  In  the 
gate-house  are  the  two  door  gods,  one  with  a  dark,  the 
other  with  a  light  countenance;  one  to  guard  the  place 
by  night,  the  other  by  day.  In  the  court  behind  the  gate¬ 
house  there  are  two  towers,  one  containing  a  large  bell, 
the  other  a  drum  to  mark  the  watches.  The  Hall  of  the 
Four  Mighty  Ones  is  just  across  the  court.  They  are  the 
kings  who  guard  the  four  quarters  of  the  universe.  The 
images  of  these  kings  are  colossal;  one  with  a  blue  face 
for  the  east,  one  with  a  red  face  for  the  south,  one  with 
a  white  face  for  the  west,  and  one  with  a  black  face  for 
the  north.  Each  has  his  own  emblem;  a  guitar,  a  sword, 
an  umbrella,  a  serpent. 

In  the  center  of  this  hall  is  an  altar  upon  which  is  placed 
an  image  of  Maitreya  Buddha,  a  fat,  jolly  looking  deity 
whose  appearance  betokens  the  good  time  coming.  Back  to 
back  with  him  is  the  image  of  Wei  T’o,  a  gilded  likeness 
of  a  warrior  in  coat  of  mail  with  drawn  sword.  He  is 
the  officer  who  carries  out  the  orders  of  the  Four  Kings. 

Behind  this  hall  is  a  large  court-yard,  on  the  right  and 
left  of  which  are  side  chapels  for  inferior  saints,  one  of 
them  being  usually  Titsang.  Facing  the  visitor  across  the 
court  is  the  principal  hall  of  the  temple,  which  contains 
the  high  altar  with  images  of  the  Three  Holy  Ones;  the 


Chinese  Buddhism 


307 


Buddha,  the  Law  and  the  Congregation,  according  to  one 
tradition,  but  in  popular  estimation,  a  trinity — the 
Buddhas  of  the  Past,  Present,  and  Future.  An  altar  of 
incense  is  just  inside  the  door  and  before  it  usually  there 
is  a  contribution  box.  Upon  the  altar  are  placed  the  eight 
sacred  emblems;  the  conch  shell,  the  pot  of  incense,  the 
wheel  of  the  law,  the  umbrella,  the  stupa,  the  pair  of  fishes, 
the  net,  and  the  banner.  On  the  right  and  left  are  the 
bell  and  the  drum  and  other  musical  instruments  used  in 
worship,  and  upon  the  altar,  in  Lama  temples,  brass  lamps 
of  melted  butter — in  other  temples  candle-sticks. 

Along  the  east  and  west  sides  are  the  eighteen  Lohan, 
or  apostles  of  Buddhism,  nine  on  a  side,  each  with  his 
own  emblem.  Behind  the  altar  and  separated  from  it  by 
a  screen  is  an  image  of  Kwanyin,  standing  on  a  rock 
amidst  the  dashing  waves,  rescuing  men  and  women  from 
the  sea  of  misery.  In  the  larger  monasteries  there  is  also 
another  hall  for  general  assemblies.  In  some  there  is  a 
hall  of  the  Five  Hundred  Disciples.  One  such  near  Peking 
has  life-sized  images  of  these  disciples,  all  heavily  gilded. 


LAY  MEMBERSHIP 

Although  Buddhism,  as  originally  taught,  requires 
celibacy  and  forbids  its  disciples  to  engage  in  business,  in 
its  present  form  provision  is  made  also  for  lay  membership. 
Some  lay  persons  content  themselves  with  abstinence  from 
flesh-eating,  some  with  the  observance  of  certain  fast  days. 
Others  take  five  of  the  monkish  vows:  (1)  during  life-time 
not  to  kill  any  living  creature,  (2)  during  life-time  not  to 
steal,  (3)  during  life-time  to  abstain  from  all  sexual  im¬ 
purity,  (4)  during  life-time  to  abstain  from  lying,  (5) 
during  life-time  to  abstain  from  all  intoxicants.  Another 
class  of  lay  members  adds  to  these  five,  three  other  vows: 
(6)  not  to  seat  oneself  upon  a  broad  couch  or  an  elevated 
divan,  (7)  not  to  adorn  oneself  with  flowers  or  to  use 
perfumery,  (8)  not  to  associate  with  actors  or  courtesans. 
Before  taking  these  vows  the  candidate  must  confess  faith 


308 


Chinese  Buddhism 


in  the  Buddha,  his  law,  and  the  order,  and  then  must  make 
confession  that  in  previous  incarnations  he  has  been  guilty 
of  killing,  stealing,  lying  and  impurity,  and  he  must  ask 
absolution  for  these  sins. 


INITIATION  INTO  MONKHOOD 

In  order  to  become  a  monk  one  must  pass  through  a 
period  of  novitiate.  The  candidate  selects  a  god-father,  and, 
when  brought  before  the  chapter,  asks  through  the  master 
of  ceremonies  that  he  may  be  permitted  to  have  his  head 
shaven  by  his  god-father.  This  done,  the  candidate  begs 
to  be  permitted  to  quit  his  family.  Consent  having  been 
given,  the  brother  appointed  to  instruct  him  uncovers  the 
right  shoulder  and  arm  of  the  novice,  removes  his  gown, 
and  causes  him  to  kneel  upon  his  right  knee  and  raise  his 
joined  hands  in  supplication.  In  this  position  he  recites 
three  times  this  confession:  “I  give  my  faith  to  Buddha, 
to  his  Law  and  to  his  Order.  In  imitation  of  Buddha  I 

quit  my  family.  I  recognize -  as  my  god-father.  He 

who  has  come,  the  True  One,  and  all  the  Illuminated  Ones 
are  the  objects  of  my  veneration.”  He  then  vows  to  ob¬ 
serve  the  following  ten  commandments : 

(1)  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 

(2)  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

(3)  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

(4)  Thou  shalt  not  lie. 

(5)  Thou  shalt  not  drink  wine. 

(6)  Thou  shalt  not  adorn  thyself  with  flowers  nor  use  per¬ 
fumes. 

(7)  Thou  shalt  not  sing  nor  dance,  nor  associate  with  actors 
nor  courtesans,  nor  visit  a  theater,  nor  listen  to  singing. 

(8)  Thou  shalt  not  sit  upon  an  elevated  seat  nor  upon  a 
broad  divan. 

(9)  Thou  shalt  not  eat  except  at  permitted  hours. 

(10)  Thou  shalt  not  touch  silver  nor  gold,  whether  as  bullion 
or  money  or  in  the  shape  of  jewelry. 

He  then  passes  a  period  of  instruction  and  probation  in 
preparation  for  initiation  into  monkhood.  When  the  time 


Chinese  Buddhism 


309 


for  initiation  arrives  the  candidate,  in  the  presence  of  the 
chapter,  begs  his  god-father  to  obtain  for  him  permission 
to  enter  the  order.  If  the  god-father  consents  the  candi¬ 
date  is  then  removed  from  the  chapter  hall,  and  the  master 
of  ceremonies  asks  the  brethren  present  if  one  of  them 
will  volunteer  to  serve  as  instructor.  When  such  an  one 
offers  himself  the  master  of  ceremonies  requests  the  as¬ 
sembly  to  consent  to  his  appointment.  The  instructor  then 
goes  out  to  the  candidate  and  examines  him.  He  first  learns 
whether  the  candidate  has  the  proper  inner  and  outer 
garments  and  the  begging  bowl.  These  are  indispensable. 
He  then  solemnly  charges  the  candidate  to  answer  all  ques¬ 
tions  frankly  and  truthfully.  He  must  satisfy  the  in¬ 
structor  that  he  does  not  hold  heretical  views,  that  he  has 
not  been  guilty  of  impure  living  during  his  novitiate,  that 
he  has  not  violated  any  other  rules  of  the  order,  that  he 
has  not  chosen  this  calling  from  unworthy  motives,  that 
he  is  not  mutilated  nor  a  slave,  that  he  is  a  free  man, 
that  he  is  not  a  refugee  from  justice,  that  he  is  not  married, 
that  he  is  not  afflicted  with  any  contagious  disease,  and 
that  he  is  of  age  and  has  the  consent  of  his  parents.  The 
instructor,  having  satisfied  himself  of  the  candidate’s  quali¬ 
fications,  returns  to  the  assembled  chapter  to  report,  and 
asks  permission  to  present  the  candidate  for  initiation. 
There  being  no  objection,  he  calls  with  a  loud  voice: 
‘ ‘Enter.”  Before  the  chapter  the  candidate  is  then  put 
through  another  examination.  The  master  of  ceremonies 
announces  that  he  has  examined  the  candidate  and  found 
him  qualified.  He  then  calls  out:  “If  any  one  has  objec¬ 
tion  to  his  admission  let  him  now  speak.  This  is  the  first 
summons.”  He  repeats  the  statement  adding,  “This  is  the 
second  summons,”  and  again  closing  with,  “This  is  the 
third  summons.”  The  master  of  ceremonies  then  warns 
the  candidate  that  there  are  four  offenses,  for  any  one  of 
which  he  will  be  expelled  from  the  order :  impurity,  theft, 
killing  any  living  creature — even  an  ant,  and  boasting. 
He  also  notifies  him  that  there  are  four  fundamental  re¬ 
quirements  of  monkhood:  (1)  he  must  wear  clothing  made 
of  remnants  or  cast-off  articles,  (2)  he  must  beg  his  food, 


310 


Chinese  Buddhism 


(3)  he  must  be  content  with  the  shelter  of  a  tree  unless 
supplied  with  a  hut  or  home  by  some  benefactor,  (4)  he 
must  use  no  medicine  except  that  he  may  take  as  remedies 
sour  milk,  oil  or  honey,  if  these  be  provided  by  some  bene¬ 
factor.6 

"When  a  monk  takes  his  vows  they  are  registered  one 
by  one  upon  his  skin  by  pressing  the  burning  end  of  a 
stick  of  incense,  either  upon  his  scalp  or  upon  his  right 
arm.  Some  sects  locate  them  upon  the  one  and  others  upon 
the  other. 


INFLUENCE  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  CHINA 

The  Chinese  regard  for  the  family  and  the  desire  for 
descendants  to  keep  up  the  sacrifices  for  the  dead  have 
made  them  slow  to  accept  the  teachings  of  Buddhism.  For 
six  hundred  years  missionaries  came  from  India  preach¬ 
ing  the  faith.  Sometimes  the  religion  received  the  imperial 
favor,  but  at  other  times  it  was  persecuted;  monasteries 
were  confiscated,  bronze  bells  and  images  melted  into  cash, 
and  thousands  of  monks  and  nuns  compelled  to  return  to 
their  homes.  But  in  spite  of  all  opposition  the  faith  took 
hold  of  the  hearts  of  the  people.  It  supplied  something 
which  Confucianism  lacked.  In  its  modified  form  of 
Amidhism  it  was  particularly  attractive.  It  has  had  a 
profound  influence  upon  Chinese  civilization ;  upon  its  arts, 
its  literature  and  its  religions.  It  has  filled  the  land  with 
beautiful  pagodas.  It  has  taught  landscape  gardening  and 
encouraged  sculpture  and  painting.  Its  symbols  are  com¬ 
mon  in  all  decorative  art.  The  lion  is  seen  at  every  palace 
gate;  the  umbrella  is  the  emblem  of  imperial  and  magis¬ 
terial  authority;  the  rosary  is,  or  was,  a  part  of  the  cere¬ 
monial  dress  of  every  high  official.  The  swastika,  the  net 
of  metempsychosis,  the  wheel  of  the  law — all  these  and 
many  other  symbols  are  woven  into  their  fabrics,  carved 
in  their  wood-work,  and  frescoed  upon  their  ceilings. 

Buddhism  has  given  a  new  phraseology  to  Chinese  lit¬ 
erature.  It  has  introduced  keen  philosophical  disputation, 

o  Bouddhisme  Chinois,  pp.  181-183  and  193-202. 


Chinese  Buddhism 


311 


and  even  the  indigenous  religions  have  been  compelled  to 
borrow  its  doctrines  and  adopt  some  of  its  ceremonies. 
Taoism  imitated  it  in  the  introduction  of  images,  and  even 
the  proud  Confucianist  calls  in  the  monks  to  read  prayers 
over  his  dead. 

Some  of  the  Buddhist  literature  is  very  arid.  One  of 
the  most  popular  of  its  treatises  is  the  Diamond  Sutra,  so 
called  apparently  because  of  its  ability  to  resist  all  attacks 
upon  its  doctrines.  Yet  the  meat  which  it  supplies  to  the 
hungry  soul  is  made  up  of  such  sentiments  as  these : 

Anyone  who  has  entered  upon  the  path  of  the  Bodhisatvas 
must  thus  frame  his  thought;  as  many  beings  as  there  are  in  this 
world  of  beings — with  form  or  without  form,  with  name  or  with¬ 
out  name,  or  neither  with  nor  without  name — as  far  as  any 
known  world  of  beings  is  known — all  these  must  be  delivered 
by  me  in  the  perfect  world  of  nirvana.  And  yet  after  I  shall 
have  delivered  thus  innumerable  beings,  not  one  single  being  will 
have  been  delivered.  Why?  If  a  Bodhisatva  had  any  idea  of  a 
being  he  could  not  be  called  a  Bodhisatva.7 

That  is  to  say,  beings  have  no  real  existence.  The  whole 
argument  in  the  book  may  be  summed  up  in  three  state¬ 
ments:  (1)  The  state  of  nirvana  is  happiness  because  it 
frees  one  from  the  misery  of  existence.  (2)  Human  life 
and  the  sensuous  world  are  deceptive  phenomena.  (3) 
Matter  is  non-existent ;  to  realize  this  is  to  take  the  first 
step  towards  enlightenment. 

But  there  is  more  attractive  literature  than  this.  Listen 
to  the  parable  of  the  mustard  seed.  A  poor  widow  had 
an  only  child  that  was  taken  ill  and  died.  She  bore  the 
dead  body  about  with  her  and  tried  to  nurse  it  back  to  life, 
but  in  vain.  Pitying  friends  bade  her  go  to  the  Lord 
Buddha  and  ask  his  help.  Tie  listened  sympathetically  to 
her  plea  that  he  would  restore  her  child  to  life.  He  said: 
“Yes,  if  you  will  bring  me  a  little  mustard  seed.”  She  was 
about  to  hasten  away  but  he  stopped  her,  adding,  “You 
must  first  borrow  the  mustard  seed  from  some  household 
in  which  no  one  has  ever  died.”  She  went  to  one  neighbor 
after  another  begging  a  little  mustard  seed,  saying,  “The 

7  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Vol.  XLIX,  Part  II,  p.  132. 


sn 


Chinese  Buddhism 


Master  has  promised  that  if  I  will  bring  it  he  will  restore 
my  child  to  life.”  They  said,  “We  will  give  you  the 
mustard  seed  gladly.”  “But,”  said  she,  “I  must  first 
know  whether  anyone  in  this  household  has  died.”  “Ah,” 
said  they,  “what  home  has  not  been  visited  by  death!” 
Then  her  eyes  were  opened.  She  saw  that  she  was  not  the 
only  mourner  in  the  world  and  came  back  to  thank  the 
Lord  Buddha  for  his  teaching.8 

One  of  the  most  unfortunate  influences  of  Buddhism  has 
been  its  teaching  with  regard  to  hell.  Originally  it  taught 
that  there  were  eight  hot  hells  and  eight  cold  hells,  or 
earth  prisons  beneath  Mt.  Sumeru.  In  China,  in  every 
town,  there  is  at  least  one  and  oftentimes  there  are  several 
representations  of  the  ten  hells  of  which  Chinese  Buddhists 
speak.  The  tortures  of  the  damned  are  represented  by 
images,  sometimes  of  life  size,  picturing  men  and  women 
flayed  by  demons,  roasting  on  red-hot  cylinders,  pounded 
in  mortars,  sawn  asunder,  being  transformed  into  beasts, 
and  undergoing  other  indescribable  sufferings.  So  far 
from  deterring  men  from  sin,  these  cruel  representations 
appear  to  harden  the  hearts  of  those  who  look  upon  them, 
and  to  suggest  to  them  abominable  methods  of  tormenting 
the  victims  of  their  wrath  in  times  of  riot  or  of  religious 
or  political  persecution.  The  Yu  Li,  or  Precious  Records, 
is  a  book  of  tales  recounting  the  experiences  of  those  who 
have  passed  to  the  realms  of  Yama  and  been  punished  for 
the  lack  of  filial  piety  or  for  other  sins  committed  in  this 
life. 


BUDDHIST  CHARITIES 

It  has  been  said  that  Buddhism  has  given  the  world  no 
great  humane  institutions,  that  it  really  does  nothing  to 
relieve  the  suffering  of  the  world.  It  does  fall  far  behind 
Christianity  in  this  regard,  but  it  is  not  true  that  it  does 
nothing  to  relieve  human  suffering.  It  is  true  that  it 
spends  much  energy  in  saving  animal  life.  It  will  screen 
a  candle  to  keep  the  moths  from  singeing  their  wings;  it 

s  Edwin  Arnold’s  “ Light  of  Asia,”  Bk.  V. 


Chinese  Buddhism 


313 


will  shrink  from  treading  upon  an  ant,  and  it  will  buy 
fish  and  other  living  creatures  in  the  market  to  set  them 
free.  But  it  also  maintains  free  dispensaries  for  the  sick, 
although  the  knowledge  of  anatomy  and  medicine  is  slight, 
and  it  establishes  foundling  asylums  and  schools  for  the 
young.  Many  of  the  monks,  it  is  true,  are  worthless  crea¬ 
tures,  lazy,  ignorant  and  vicious.  But  there  are  also  some 
very  sincere,  devoted  men  among  them.  When  one  of  my 
neighbors  fell  into  a  pond  and  was  drowned  the  first  man 
to  attempt  a  rescue  was  a  Buddhist  monk,  who  threw  off 
his  clothes  and  jumped  into  the  pool.  He  swam  about 
treading  water  until  he  located  the  body.  lie  was  too  late, 
it  is  true,  but  he  brought  the  body  ashore  and  did  what 
he  could.  This  act  will  be  more  appreciated  when  it  is 
known  that  Chinese  fear  to  rescue  a  drowning  man,  be¬ 
lieving  that  demons  drag  him  down.  I  have  a  friend  of 
many  years,  an  old  Buddhist  monk,  in  the  hills  near  Peking, 
a  scholarly  man,  and  as  gentle,  pure  and  good  as  any  man 
I  know.  I  shall  never  forget  how  affected  he  was  when 
he  read  in  a  Chinese  newspaper  of  the  sinking  of  the 
Titanic.  Tears  stood  in  his  eyes  as  he  praised  the  conduct 
of  the  captain  and  the  men  who  went  down  with  the  ship 
that  they  might  allow  the  women  and  children  to  be  saved. 


REFORMED  BUDDHISM 

From  China  Buddhism  passed  to  Japan,  where  it  has 
undergone  further  transformation.  The  newest  sect  there 
is  that  which  meets  in  the  Nishi  Honwangji,  a  temple  in 
Kioto.  This  sect  of  reformed  Buddhists  permits  marriage 
and  has  stated  services  every  Sunday  with  preaching.  It 
maintains  charities  and  has  rites  of  confirmation  for  its 
lay  members.  I  had  the  privilege  one  Sunday  of  attend¬ 
ing  its  services.  It,  too,  worships  Amidha  Buddha.  Re¬ 
cently  it  lias  introduced  its  teachings  into  China.  One  of 
its  advocates  was  the  abbot  of  a  monastery  not  far  from  the 
American  Legation  in  Peking.  He  used  to  visit  us  occa¬ 
sionally.  One  year  he  endeavored  to  organize  a  pan- 


314 


CJiinese  Buddhism 


religions  committee,  to  be  composed  of  Buddhists,  Taoists, 
Confucianists,  Mohammedans,  and  of  Protestant  and  Ro¬ 
man  Catholic  Christians.  His  aim  was  to  bring  these  dif¬ 
ferent  religions  into  mutual  acquaintanceship  and  so  put 
an  end  to  strife.  He  failed  in  his  endeavor  but  the  effort 
did  honor  to  his  heart.  He  established  at  his  own  charge 
two  schools  for  boys  in  Peking  and  provided  teachers,  not 
only  of  the  Chinese  language  and  literature  but  of  mathe¬ 
matics,  geography  and  physical  sciences.  He  was  highly 
educated  and  wrote  a  history  of  Buddhism  in  three  coun¬ 
tries — India,  China  and  Japan.  After  the  overthrow  of 
the  empire  he  wrote  a  tract  pleading  for  the  adoption  of 
Buddhism  as  the  state  religion  of  the  republic,  holding 
very  truthfully  that  Buddhism  frowns  upon  all  distinctions 
of  rank  and  teaches  the  brotherhood  of  man.  The  last 
time  I  visited  him  he  was  stone  blind.  Age  and  over-work 
in  a  poor  light,  with  perhaps  under-nourishment,  had  de¬ 
stroyed  his  sight.  But  he  was  still  cheerful  and  interested 
in  his  work.  A  few  months  later  he  had  passed.  Whither? 
Shall  we  say  to  nirvana,  or  to  the  happy  Western  Heaven? 
He  passed — to  the  immortality  in  which  he  and  we  believe. 


ATTITUDE  TOWARD  MILITARISM 

One  characteristic  of  his  school  aroused  some  comment. 
He  required  the  pupils  to  have  military  drill.  This  was 
done  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  new  public 
school  system.  He  desired  to  make  his  schools  equal  to 
those  maintained  by  the  state.  Buddhism,  it  is  true,  is  a 
religion  of  peace.  It  frowns  upon  war  since  it  forbids  all 
killing.  Yet  the  Buddhist  has  not  been  any  more  consist¬ 
ent  in  this  regard  than  the  Christian.  When  the  Sung 
Emperor  was  being  driven  south  by  the  armies  of  Genghis 
Khan,  in  the  13th  century,  these  Mongol  raiders  were 
held  in  check  on  the  banks  of  the  Yangtze  by  the  monks  of 
the  Yuan-t’ung  Monastery,  who  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
Imperial  Court.  In  1126  the  abbot  of  a  monastery  in 
Shansi,  on  the  famous  Wu  T’ai  Mountain;  became  a  cav- 


Chinese  Buddhism 


315 


airy  leader  of  great  renown,  through  his  success  in  drilling 
and  leading  his  monks  against  the  Tartar  hordes.  We 
have  seen  this  same  militant  spirit  in  our  own  day.  The 
Boxers  were  organized  and  drilled  in  Buddhist  monasteries 
in  1900,  and  duped  into  believing  themselves  invulnerable 
because  of  the  charms  which  had  been  given  to  them  by 
the  monks.  If  we  are  horrified  by  the  outrages  committed 
by  these  Boxers,  we  must  also  remember  that  they  were 
not  without  provocation,  seeing  that  foreigners  had  seized 
some  of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  land  and  were  openly 
discussing  the  partitioning  of  China. 

Buddhism  has  been  called  the  “ Light  of  Asia,’ ’  and  un¬ 
doubtedly  it  has  dispelled  much  gloom.  It  has  been  a  civi¬ 
lizing  force.  But  there  are  black  spots  on  the  disk  of  the 
sun,  and  Buddhism,  too,  is  not  free  from  faults.  It  has 
not  qualified  itself  to  be  the  “ Light  of  the  World.”  Yet 
a  Buddhist  might  retort  upon  us  by  pointing  out  incon¬ 
sistencies  in  our  own  creed  and  ridiculing  our  pet  super¬ 
stitions.  What  is  desirable  is  that,  no  matter  what  our 
faith,  we  should  love  truth  above  all  things  and  be  willing 
to  acknowledge  it  wherever  it  may  be  found,  for  in  that 
alone  is  progress  possible.  “Ye  shall  know  the  truth  and 
the  truth  shall  make  you  free” — free  from  the  bonds  of 
superstition.  “And  if  the  truth  shall  make  you  free  ye 
shall  be  free  indeed.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


TAOISM 

The  rewards  of  good  and  evil  follow  as  naturally  as  the  shadow 
follows  the  substance. — Kang  Ying  F’ien. 

Taoism  is  both  a  philosophy  and  a  religion.  As  a  phi¬ 
losophy  it  is  traced  to  Lao  Tzu,  which  is  by  interpretation 
“Old  Philosopher.”  His  name  was  Li  Erh;  his  nom  de 
plume  Li  Po-yang,  his  posthumous  name  Li  Tan.  Li  was 
his  surname,  and  means  Plum.  According  to  the  accepted 
tradition  he  was  born  in  604  B.C.  near  the  modern  city  of 
Kueitefu,  in  the  province  of  Honan.  In  a  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Confucius,  in  another  chapter,  a  description  of 
Lao  Tzu’s  character  has  already  been  given,  and  some  of 
the  striking  sentences  from  his  work — the  Tao  Te  King — 
have  been  quoted.  His  authorship  of  that  classic  has  been 
questioned  by  Professor  Giles,  although  without  sufficient 
reason,  as  I  think.  But  whether  we  call  the  author  of  the 
book  by  the  name  Lao  Tzu,  or  by  some  other  cognomen, 
is  of  small  consequence;  the  book  still  remains,  and  it  is 
the  remarkable  teaching  of  this  book,  the  Tao  Te  King, 
that  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  world. 


THE  TAO  TE  KING 

It  is  in  this  book  that  Taoist  philosophy  finds  its  roots, 
just  as  it  is  in  this  book,  also,  that  the  religion  called 
Taoism  finds  its  most  holy  scripture.  True,  Lao  Tzu  had 
no  thought  of  founding  a  religion,  and  he  could  have  had 
no  sympathy  with  the  modern  conglomeration  of  shaman¬ 
ism,  sorcery,  astrology,  necromancy,  demonaltry  and  magic 
which  passes  for  a  religion.  Lao  Tzu  was  a  profound 
thinker,  a  political  philosopher  of  keen  insight,  and  an 

316 


Taoism 


317 


etliical  teacher  of  very  high  order;  but  he  did  not  pose  as 
a  saint,  and  it  was  not  until  700  years  after  his  death 
that  he  was  canonized  and  that  a  temple  was  built  for  his 
worship. 

The  Tao  Te  King  treats  of  two  subjects,  tao  and  te.  Tao 
is  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  philosophy  which  it 
teaches,  and  te  is  the  practical  exemplification  of  the  prin¬ 
ciple  in  conduct.  Tao  means  the  “way,”  or  the  “word.” 
As  a  verb  it  means  “to  walk,”  or  “to  speak.”  Te  implies 
action.  It  is  commonly  translated  ‘  ‘  virtue.  ’  ’  It  also  means 
“energy”  or  “power.”  When  one  walks  in  the  “way” 
the  result  is  right  conduct,  or  virtue. 

Lao  Tzu  began  his  work  with  a  brief,  sententious  dis¬ 
cussion  of  the  one  great  problem  of  philosophy :  to  discover 
the  unity  underlying  all  diversity,  the  changeless  that  lies 
behind  all  change,  the  infinite  surrounding  the  finite,  the 
eternal  principle  of  the  universe.  This  he  called  Tao.  The 
first  chapter  of  the  Tao  Te  King  may  be  translated  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

The  way  that  can  be  trodden  is  not  the  eternal  way;  the* 
name  that  can  be  named  is  not  the  unchanging  name. 

Or — The  word  that  can  be  spoken  is  not  the  eternal  word;  the 
name  that  can  be  named  is  not  the  unchanging  name. 

Unnamed  it  was  the  beginning  of  heaven  and  earth;  named,  it 
became  the  source  of  all  things. 

As  ever  free  from  desire,  it  is  seen  as  the  mysterious;  as  ever 
possessed  of  desire,  it  is  seen  as  the  limited. 

These  two  are  of  one  origin,  yet  different  in  name. 

This  common  origin  we  call  the  abyss.  It  is  the  abyss  within 
the  abyss,  the  gateway  to  all  mystery. 

This  is  a  literal  translation.  A  reasonable  paraphrase 
of  it  in  modern  philosophical  terms  would  read  somewhat 
as  follows: 

The  eternal  principle  which  lies  behind  the  phenomenal  world 
is  undefinable.  Undefined,  it  lies  at  the  beginning  of  the  uni¬ 
verse.  To  define  it  is  to  limit  it.  As  the  source  of  the  whole 
world  it  is  defined.  It  limits  itself.  Free  from  all  attributes 
it  is  seen  as  the  Absolute.  Possessed  of  attributes  it  is  seen  as 
limited.  These  two,  the  Absolute  and  the  Limited,  have  a  coin- 


318 


Taoism 


mon  origin.  Their  common  origin  we  call  the  abyss.  It  is  indeed 
the  abyss  of  abysses  and  the  doorway  to  all  mystery. 

In  the  fourth  chapter,  discoursing  further  upon  this  pro¬ 
found  principle,  the  Tao,  he  says : 

I  do  not  know  whose  son  it  is;  I  think  it  existed  before  God. 

This  use  of  Tao  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Eternal  Word 
and  the  source  of  the  visible  universe  led  the  translators 
of  the  New  Testament  to  employ  the  word  tao  in  translat¬ 
ing  into  Chinese  the  Greek  word  logos,  in  the  first  chapter 
of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

Some  years  ago,  when  visiting  the  Twelve  Caves  near 
Nanking,  I  found  in  one  of  the  largest  a  ladder  reaching 
up  through  a  cleft  in  the  rock.  On  climbing  it  I  came  out 
upon  a  natural  terrace  on  the  face  of  the  cliff.  Walking 
some  distance  along  this  terrace  I  found  another  ladder 
which  led  up  through  a  trap  door  into  a  small  shrine  that 
hung  upon  the  face  of  the  rock.  Pushing  open  the  trap 
I  entered,  and  stood  before  an  altar  erected  in  front  of 
the  image  of  a  Taoist  divinity.  An  old  man  with  long 
beard  and  long  white  hair,  held  back  from  his  face  by  a 
brass  band  over  his  head,  came  from  a  cave  at  the  rear  of 
the  shrine  and  received  me  very  graciously.  Over  a  cup 
of  tea  he  told  me  his  story.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the 
Taiping  army,  and  when  the  rebellion  was  suppressed  he 
had  renounced  the  world  and  taken  refuge  in  a  Taoist 
monastery.  After  we  had  talked  of  many  things,  he  left 
me  a  moment  and  brought  from  the  cave  a  well-thumbed 
copy  of  the  Chinese  version  of  St.  John’s  Gospel.  He  read 
the  first  few  verses : 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Tao,  and  the  Tao  was  with  God,  and 
the  Tao  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God. 
All  things  were  made  by  him;  and  without  him  not  anything 
was  made  that  was  made. 

He  told  me  that  this  was  just  the  teaching  of  his  religion, 
and  that  he  was  very  fond  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 


Taoism 


319 


LAO  TZU’S  POLITICAL  PHILOSOPHY 

From  the  quotations  made  in  an  earlier  chapter  we  might 
be  led  to  think  that  Lao  Tzu  in  his  political  theories  was 
a  philosophical  anarchist.  This  would  hardly  be  a  fair 
judgment,  however,  for  while  he  sought  to  reduce  govern¬ 
ment  to  the  minimum  he  did  not  deny  that  government 
was  needed.  “The  holy  man’s  method  of  government,” 
he  says,  “is  to  empty  the  people’s  hearts  and  fill  their 
stomachs;  to  weaken  their  desires  and  strengthen  their 
bones.”  1  For  him  the  welfare  of  the  people  was  the  true 
object  of  government.  He  disliked,  however,  to  see  the 
people  struggling  for  wealth  and  official  position  and  tak¬ 
ing  pleasure  in  display.  “The  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust 
of  the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life,”  were  things  he  con¬ 
demned.  “Riches,  honor  and  pride,”  he  said,  “leave  a 
heritage  of  ill  fortune.”  2  “Horse-racing  and  hunting  dis¬ 
order  the  mind,  and  the  scramble  for  wealth  mars  the 
character  of  man.  ’  ’ 3  He  did  not  think,  however,  that 
matters  were  to  be  improved  by  legislation,  for  he  said : 
“The  more  warnings  and  prohibitions  there  are  in  the 
world,  the  poorer  the  people  become  ...”  “The  more 
laws  and  commands  there  are,  the  greater  the  number  of 
thieves  and  robbers.”  Therefore,  the  holy  man  says:  “I 
do  nothing  and  men,  themselves,  reform.  ...  I  suppress 
desire  and  men,  themselves,  become  simple  in  their 
tastes.  ” 4 

*  ‘  Do  nothing,  ’  ’  was  his  motto — ‘  ‘  Do  nothing,  and  all  will 
be  done.”  He  loved  paradox.  “The  Tao  is  ever  inactive, 
yet  there  is  nothing  which  it  does  not  accomplish.  ’  ’ 5 

‘  ‘  Whoso  endeavors,  fails ;  he  who  seizes,  loses.  The  holy 
man  does  nothing,  so  fails  in  nothing.  He  seizes  nothing, 
and  therefore,  loses  nothing.  He  desires  to  be  free  from 
desire,  and  not  to  prize  things  that  arc  hard  to  get.”0 

1  Tao  Te  King,  Chap.  III. 

2  Tao  Te  King,  Chap.  IX. 

a  Ibid.,  Chap.  XII. 

4  Ibid.,  Chap.  LVII. 

5  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXXVII. 

o  Ibid.,  Chap.  LXIV. 


320 


Taoism 


Again  he  said :  ‘ ‘  There  is  no  sin  greater  than  desire ;  there 
is  no  misfortune  greater  than  not  to  know  when  one  has 
enough.  There  is  no  fault  greater  than  greed  of  gain.  ’  ’ 7 
This  policy  of  suppressing  desire  and  allowing  things  to 
take  their  course,  he  believed  to  be  the  way  of  nature — the 
way  of  the  Tao.  He  had  no  use  for  noisy  busy-bodies.  “  A 
typhoon, 7  ’  he  said,  ‘  ‘  can ’t  last  all  morning ;  a  pouring  rain 
can ’t  last  all  day.  ’  ’ 8  His  theory  of  ‘  ‘  do  nothing  and  all 
will  be  done,”  he  illustrated  by  the  value  of  vacancy. 
“Thirty  spokes  are  inserted  in  one  hub,  but  the  wheel’s 
usefulness  depends  upon  the  nothingness  of  the  hole  in 
the  hub.  We  knead  the  clay  to  mould  a  vessel,  but  it  is 
the  nothingness  of  the  hollow  of  the  vessel  that  gives  it 
usefulness.  We  build  a  house  and  cut  doors  and  windows 
in  the  walls,  but  the  usefulness  of  the  house  and  that  of 
doors  and  windows  depends  upon  the  nothingness  of  the 
space  inclosed.”9  He  believed  in  the  power  of  a  quiet 
example.  He  taught  that  gentleness  would  accomplish 
more  than  force.  Real  goodness  he  likened  to  water,  which 
seeks  the  lowly  place  and  benefits  all  sorts  of  creatures.10 
“There  is  nothing  more  yielding  than  water,  but  nothing 
can  equal  it  in  attacking  the  hard.”  .  .  .  “Weakness  con¬ 
quers  strength ;  the  soft  overcomes  the  hard.  ’ ni 

HIS  ETHICS 

Lao  Tzu  was  an  altruist,  for  he  said :  ‘  ‘  The  holy  man 
keeps  himself  in  the  background,  and  therefore,  he  comes 
to  the  front.  He  puts  self  aside,  and  therefore,  his  own 
interests  are  preserved.  ’  ’ 12  He  rises  to  a  greater  height 
than  Confucius.  The  latter  opposed  the  teaching  that 
one  should  return  good  for  evil.  “What,  then,  will  you 
return  for  good?”  he  asked.  Lao  Tzu,  on  the  other  hand, 
said:  “I  am  good  to  the  good;  I  am  also  good  to  the  bad, 

7  Ibid.,  Chap.  XLYI. 

s  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXIII. 

9  Ibid.,  Chap.  XI. 

10  Ibid.,  Chap.  VIII. 

11  Ibid.,  Chap.  LXXVIII. 

12  Ibid.,  Chap.  VII. 


Taoism 


321 


for  virtue  (the  Te  of  his  philosophy)  is  goodness.  With 
the  faithful  I  am  faithful;  with  the  unfaithful  I  am  also 
faithful ;  for  virtue  is  faithfulness.  ”  13  “  Requite  enmity 

with  kindness.  ’  ’ 14 

He  hated  war.  “Even  the  best  weapons,”  he  said,  “are 
unlucky  instruments.  .  .  .  They  are  not  the  instruments 
of  the  perfect  man.  Only  when  unavoidable  does  he  use 
them.  He  gives  high  place  to  tranquillity  and  quietude. 
He  conquers,  but  he  does  not  find  pleasure  in  it,  for  to 
find  such  pleasure  would  be  to  rejoice  in  killing  men.”  15 
Elsewhere  he  says :  ‘  ‘  Where  armies  have  encamped,  there 
thorns  and  briers  spring  up,  and  famine  stalks  ever  in 
the  rear  of  marching  hosts.  ”  16  “  When  the  world  has 

Tao,  horses  are  used  to  haul  filth,  and  when  it  is  without 
Tao  war  horses  are  bred  in  the  suburbs.  ’  ’ 17 

By  his  philosophy  he  seeks  to  make  men  masters  of 
themselves.  Thus  he  teaches  as  follows :  ‘  ‘  Whoso  knows 
men  is  knowing,  but  he  who  knows  himself  has  understand¬ 
ing.  He  who  subdues  others  is  strong,  but  he  who  conquers 
self  is  mighty.  He  who  knows  sufficiency  is  rich.  ’  ’ 18 

But  the  method  by  which  one  attains  this  self-control 
is  not  to  be  a  method  imposed  upon  one  from  without 
by  laws  and  commands.  It  is  the  self-determined  choice 
of  the  soul,  which,  knowing  Tao  to  be  the  source  of  all 
things  and  the  only  true  way  of  life,  seeks  to  live  in 
harmony  with  that  living  Word  and  to  walk  in  that  high 
Way. 

It  will  at  once  be  recognized  that  Lao  Tzu  was  a  quiet- 
ist.  He  would  live  in  quiet  meditation,  himself,  allowing 
the  Tao  to  work  its  own  will  in  him  and  in  all  around 
him.  He  would  be  passive — yield  himself  to  the  influence 
of  Tao.  It  could  not  be  right,  therefore,  for  him  to  strive 
— “to  cry  or  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  street.” 
Hence  the  Taoist,  to  this  day,  is  a  quiet  man,  not  easily 

13  Ibid.,  Chap.  XLIX. 

14  Ibid.,  Chap.  LXIII. 

is  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXXI. 

io  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXX. 

17  Ibid.,  Chap.  XLVI. 

is  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXXIII. 


{ 


322 


Taoism 


provoked,  one  who  refuses  to  engage  in  controversy.  Strife, 
impatience,  anger — all  these  destroy  the  peace  of  the  soul 
which  is  the  s ummum  bonum.  They  injure  the  vitality  of 
the  man  and  shorten  his  life.  The  Taoist  agrees  with  the 
Buddhist  in  endeavoring  to  suppress  desire;  but  whereas 
the  Buddhist  looks  upon  desire  as  the  cause  of  birth  and 
re-birth,  from  which  one  should  seek  deliverance,  the 
Taoist  suppresses  desire  because  desire  frets  the  soul  and 
wears  out  the  life.  The  Buddhist  is  a  pessimist  and  thinks 
life  to  be  evil — a  curse  to  be  escaped.  The  Taoist  loves 
life,  believes  it  to  be  a  blessing  and  seeks  to  prolong  it. 

From  this  follows  the  regimen  of  the  Taoist.  “He  who 
dies  but  perishes  not  has  long  life’7  (that  is,  is  immortal).19 
To  attain  to  this,  we  are  told,  one  must  give  careful  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  animal  soul,  that  p’o  which  the  Li  Ki  tells  us 
accompanies  the  body  into  the  grave.  He  must  also  pay 
especial  attention  to  the  ch’i,  the  vital  vapor.  I  quote  the 
Old  Philosopher: 

Nourish  and  discipline  the  soul  (p’o).  Maintain  unity  (i.e., 
union  of  the  soul  and  spirit).  Thus  you  can  escape  dissolution. 
Give  especial  attention  to  the  breath  (ch’i)  until  it  grows  soft 
(impalpable),  and  you  can  become  as  a  little  child.20 

All  this,  as  he  tells  us  in  another  place,21  requires  one 
to  guard  very  carefully  the  quietude  of  his  surroundings. 
The  affairs  of  the  world  disturb  him  not*  He  sees  them 
pass  and  re-pass.  He  sees  them  arise,  but  knows  that  they 
will  return  again,  as  the  petals  of  a  flower  fall  to  the  root 
of  the  plant.22 

All  this,  of  course,  tends  to  destroy  interest  in  the  events 
of  the  day  and  unfit  one  for  the  duties  of  life.  Yet  many 
an  old  man  in  China  whose  passions  have  burned  them¬ 
selves  out,  whose  ambitions  have  been  quenched,  whose 
endeavors  have  failed,  turns  to  the  quiet  retreat  of  the 
Taoist  monastery  to  seek  in  its  discipline  a  method  of  pro- 

19  Ibid.,  Chap.  XXXIII. 

20  Ibid.,  Chap.  X. 

21  Ibid.,  Chap.  XVI. 

22  Ibid.,  Chap.  XVI. 


Taoism 


323 


longing  his  days,  though  it  be  a  prolongation  of  a  life  no 
longer  useful. 

TAOISM  POSSIBLY  OF  HINDU  ORIGIN 

rA  number  of  modern  students  of  Taoism  believe  that  it 
has  an  Indian  origin.  Pere  Wieger,  a  missionary  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  thinks  that  the  very  terms  Tao  and  Te, 
are  but  transliterations  of  two  Sanscrit  words,  Tat  and 
Tyad;  i.e.,  “The  First  Being”  and  “The  Others.”  He 
believes  that  he  has  found  several  Sanscritisms  in  the 
work.23  There  is  no  evidence,  however,  of  any  communica¬ 
tion  between  China  and  India  at  so  early  a  date  as  the 
time  in  which  Lao  Tzu  lived.  Later  Chinese  philosophy 
does  owe  much  to  India.  It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that 
the  Tao  Te  King,  in  some  passages,  reminds  one  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Upanishads. 

CHUANG  TZU 

The  greatest  of  Lao  Tzu’s  disciples  was  Chuang  Tzu, 
who  lived  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.  He  was  a  contempo¬ 
rary  of  Mencius,  but  the  two  men  do  not  appear  to  have 
met.  Chuang  Tzu  was  in  some  respects  a  more  brilliant 
writer  than  Lao  Tzu,  and  his  style  is  still  the  delight  of 
Chinese  scholars. 

Professor  Giles,  in  publishing  his  translation  of  Chuang 
Tzu,  asked  the  Rev.  Aubrey  Moore  of  Oxford,  to  write 
a  note  on  the  first  seven  chapters.  He  did  so,  and  made 
a  very  interesting  comparison  between  the  teachings  of 
Chuang  Tzu  and  those  of  Heraclitus  and  Parmenides,  who 
were  probably  contemporaries  of  Lao  Tzu.  There  could 
not  have  been,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  any  communication 
between  them  nor  between  their  disciples  and  Chuang  Tzu. 

Both  China  and  Greece  are  indebted  to  India  for  much 
of  their  philosophical  thought,  but  it  is  impossible  to  say 
how  any  of  this  debt  could  have  been  created  before  the 
sixth  century  B.C. 

4 

23  Taoisme,  Tome  I.  Introduction,  p.  9,  footnote. 


324 


Taoism 


Chuang  Tzu  assumed  an  attitude  towards  officialdom 
even  more  contemptuous  than  that  of  Lao  Tzu.  When  his 
prince  offered  him  the  premiership,  he  is  reported  to  have 
answered  in  these  words  those  who  brought  the  message : 

You  offer  me  great  wealth  and  a  proud  position  indeed;  but 
have  you  never  seen  a  sacrificial  ox?  When,  after  being  fattened 
up  for  several  years,  it  is  decked  with  embroidered  trappings 
and  led  to  the  altar,  would  it  not  then  willingly  exchange  places 
with  some  uncared  for  pigling?  Begone!  Defile  me  not!  I 
had  rather  disport  myself  to  my  own  enjoyment  in  the  mire 
than  be  a  slave  to  the  ruler  of  a  state.  I  will  never  take  office. 
Thus  I  shall  remain  free  to  follow  my  own  inclinations.24 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  chapters  of  Chuang  Tzu’s 
work  is  that  on  ‘  ‘  The  Identity  of  the  Contraries.  ’  ’  I  quote 
a  few  paragraphs  from  Giles’  translation: 

There  is  nothing  which  is  not  objective;  there  is  nothing  which 
is  not  subjective.  But  it  is  impossible  to  start  from  the  objec¬ 
tive.  Only  from  subjective  knowledge  is  it  possible  to  proceed 
to  objective  knowledge.  Hence  it  has  been  said:  “The  objective 
emanates  from  the  subjective;  the  subjective  is  consequent  upon 
the  objective.  This  is  the  Alternation  Theory.  Nevertheless 
when  one  is  born  the  other  dies.  When  one  is  possible  the  other 
is  impossible.  When  one  is  affirmative,  the  other  is  negative. 
Which  being  the  case  the  true  sage  rejects  all  distinction  of  this 
and  that.  He  takes  his  refuge  in  God  and  places  himself  in 
subjective  relation  with  all  things. 

And  inasmuch  as  the  subjective  is  also  objective  and  the 
objective  also  subjective,  and  as  the  contraries  under  each  are 
indistinguishably  blended,  does  it  not  become  impossible  for  us 
to  say  whether  subjective  and  objective  really  exist  at  all?  When 
subjective  and  objective  are  both  without  their  correlates,  that  is 
the  very  axis  of  Tao.  And  when  that  axis  passes  through  the 
center  at  which  all  infinities  converge,  positive  and  negative  alike 
blend  into  an  infinite  One.  .  .  . 

Therefore  it  is  that,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  Tao,  a 
beam  and  a  pillar  are  identical.  So  are  ugliness  and  beauty, 
greatness,  wickedness,  perverseness  and  strangeness.  Separation 
is  the  same  as  construction.  Construction  is  the  same  as  destruc¬ 
tion.  .  .  .  Only  the  truly  intelligent  understand  this  principle 
of  the  identity  of  all  things.  They  do  not  view  things  as  appre- 

24  Giles’  Translation  of  Chnang  Tzu,  Introduction,  p.  vi. 


Taoism 


325 


hended  by  themselves,  subjectively,  but  transfer  themselves  into 
the  position  of  the  things  viewed.25 


If  there  was  a  beginning,  then  there  was  a  time  before  that 
beginning.  And  a  time  before  the  time  which  was  before  the 
time  of  that  beginning.  If  there  is  existence,  then  there  must 
have  been  non-existence.  An4,  if  there  was  a  time  when  nothing 
existed,  there  must  then  have  been  a  time  before  that — when 
even  nothing  did  not  exist.  Suddenly,  when,  nothing  came  into 
existence,  could  one  really  say  whether  it  belonged  to  the  cate¬ 
gory  of  existence  or  non-existence?  Even  the  very  words  I  have 
just  now  uttered — I  can  not  say  whether  they  have  really  been 
uttered  or  not.26 


How  do  I  know  that  love  of  life  is  not  a  delusion  after  all? 
How  do  I  know  but  that  he  who  dreads  to  die  is  not  as  a  child 
who  has  lost  the  wav  and  cannot  find  his  home?  .  .  .  Those 
who  dream  of  the  banquet  wake  to  lamentation  and  sorrow. 
Those  who  dream  of  lamentation  and  sorrow  wake  to  join  the 
hunt.  While  they  dream  they  do  not  know  that  they  dream. 
Some  will  even  interpret  the  very  dream  they  are  dreaming; 
and  only  when  they  awake  do  they  know  it  was  a  dream.  By 
and  by  comes  the  Great  Awakening,  and  then  we  find  out  that 
this  life  is  really  a  great  dream.  Fools  think  they  are  awake 
now,  and  flatter  themselves  they  know  if  they  are  really  princes 
or  peasants.  Confucius  and  you  are  both  dreams;  and  I  who 
say  you  are  dreams — I  am  but  a  dream  myself.  This  is  a  para¬ 
dox.  To-morrow  a  sage  may  arise  to  explain  it;  but  that 
to-morrow  will  not  be  until  ten  thousand  generations  have 
gone  by.27 


Once  upon  a  time  I,  Chuang  Tzu,  dreamt  I  was  a  butterfly, 
fluttering  hither  and  thither,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  but¬ 
terfly.  I  was  conscious  only  of  following  my  fancies  as  a  but¬ 
terfly,  and  was  unconscious  of  my  individuality  as  a  man.  Sud¬ 
denly  I  awaked,  and  there  I  lay,  myself  again.  Now  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  was  then  a  man  dreaming  I  was  a  butterfly, 
or  whether  I  am  now  a  butterfly  dreaming  I  am  a  man.28 

25  Ibid.,  pp.  17,  18  and  19. 

20  Ibid.,  p.  23. 

27  Giles’  Translation  of  Chuang  Tzu,  pp.  29  and  30. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  32. 


326 


Taoism 


We  are  told  that  when  Chuang  Tzu  was  about  to  die  his 
disciples  were  arranging  to  give  him  an  impressive  funeral. 
The  philosopher  attempted  to  dissuade  them,  saying : 
“With  heaven  and  earth  for  my  inner  and  outer  coffin, 
with  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  as  my  burial  regalia,  and 
with  all  creation  to  escort  me  to  the  grave — are  not  my 
funeral  paraphernalia  ready  to  hand  ?  ” 29 

THE  ELIXIR  OF  IMMORTALITY 

After  the  passing  of  Chuang  Tzu,  the  great  idealist, 
Taoism  began  to  degenerate.  Men  of  smaller  mind  than 
Chuang  Tzu  could  not  live  in  the  rarefied  atmosphere  in 
which  he  delighted.  They  came  down  to  lower  levels. 

Forgetting  the  lofty  ethics  of  Lao  Tzu  some  of  them 
fastened  upon  what  he  had  written  about  caring  for  the 
animal  soul  and  regulating  the  ch’i,  or  vital  vapor,  and 
sought  by  a  regimen  of  mental  and  physical  calisthenics 
to  rejuvenate  themselves.  By  holding  the  breath  (which 
is  called  ch’i),  by  preserving  the  bodily  secretions,  and  by 
suppression  of  desire,  by  retirement  from  the  world,  avoid¬ 
ance  of  all  violent  emotions  and  the  cultivation  of  passivity, 
they  thought  to  attain  to  immortality. 

THE  PHILOSOPHER’S  STONE 

Others  gave  to  the  Tao  and  its  operations  a  physical 
instead  of  a  metaphysical  interpretation.  They  found  in 
it  the  final  substance  out  of  which  all  things  are  made. 
Chuang  Tzu’s  idealism,  which  reconciled  all  contradictions 
in  a  higher  unity,  which  identified  all  diversities  in  the 
all-pervading  One,  was  transformed  into  the  grossest  sort 
of  materialism,  in  accordance  with  which  all  substances 
were  considered  as  modifications  of  the  one  original  matter. 
They  reasoned  that  as  a  base  of  all  the  various  metals  there 
must  exist  a  common  substance,  from  which  any  or  all  of 
them  can  by  manipulation  be  produced.  Thus,  one  might 

29  Ibid.,  p.  434. 


Taoism 


327 


take  a  quantity  of  lead  and,  by  divesting  it  of  certain 
qualities,  reach  the  primal  substance,  which,  by  the  addi¬ 
tion  of  other  qualities,  could  be  converted  into  gold.  So 
alchemy  was  born.  Perhaps  they  recalled  that  chapter  of 
Lao  Tzu  in  which  he  likened  the  Tao  to  water.  At  any 
rate  they  fastened  upon  mercury  as  the  agent  that  could 
be  used  in  the  transmutation  of  metals.  The  lien  tan,  or 
pill  of  transmutation,  is  the  original  “philosopher’s  stone.” 
Ignoring  the  Old  Philosopher’s  condemnation  of  greed,  his 
teaching  that  acquisitiveness  is  the  greatest  of  faults,  these 
men  became  absorbed  in  a  scheme  for  the  manufacture  of 
gold.  They  made  haste  to  get  rich.  Subsequently  it  was 
recalled  that  Tao  was  described  as  the  source  of  life  as 
well  as  of  matter,  and  the  transmutation  pill  was  heralded 
as  a  cure  for  old  age — the  elixir  of  immortality.  The  term 
lien  tan,  “pill  of  transmutation,”  was  accepted  by  later 
generations  as  the  technical  term  to  describe  the  hygienic 
and  spiritual  regimen  still  practiced  by  Taoists  for  the 
prolongation  of  life.  These  ideas  began  to  find  currency 
in  the  third  century  B.C. 


THE  ORIGIN  OP  ALCHEMY 

European  writers  have  been  disposed  to  find  the  origin 
of  alchemy  among  the  Alexandrian  Greeks,  in  the  third 
century  of  the  Christian  era.30  Western  Europe  is  said 
to  have  derived  its  knowledge  of  the  subject  from  the  Arabs 
after  the  conquest  of  Spain.  The  teaching  spread  from 
the  eleventh  century  onward  into  Prance  and  Britain. 

The  Arabs,  no  doubt,  introduced  the  knowledge  of  al¬ 
chemy  into  Europe,  but  they  did  not  obtain  that  knowledge 
from  the  Alexandrian  Greeks.  The  prescriptions  found 
in  Egyptian  tombs  relate  only  to  certain  trade  secrets  of 
jewelers,  concerned  with  the  manufacture  of  alloys.  The 
Persians  also  were  believed  to  have  influenced  the  re¬ 
searches  of  the  Greeks.  The  Persians  had  speculated  upon 
the  possibility  of  a  transmutation  of  metals,  and  Ostanes 

*o  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  Eleventh  Edition,  Article  “Alchemy.” 


328 


Taoism 


the  Mede  had  a  formula  for  the  making  of  an  elixir  of 
immortality.  Thus  these  two  processes  were  associated 
in  their  introduction  into  Europe.  Astrology  influenced 
the  experiments  in  Persia,  as  it  did  also  in  China.  We 
now  know,  however,  that  alchemy  originated,  not  in  Egypt 
or  Persia  in  the  third  century  A.D.,  but  600  years  earlier 
in  China.  And  while  we  may  smile  at  the  ignorance  of 
these  early  adepts,  and  ridicule  the  superstitions  with  which 
their  theories  were  associated,  we  should  remember,  as  Lie¬ 
big  has  said,  that  alchemy  “was  never  at  any  time  any¬ 
thing  different  from  chemistry.  ’  ’ 

We  have  seen  that  in  China  the  Taoists  were  occupied 
with  two  problems.  They  sought  to  apply  the  teachings 
of  their  philosophy  practically,  both  in  the  realm  of  psy¬ 
chology  and  in  that  of  physics.  Thus  the  two  searches  for 
the  elixir  of  immortality  and  the  pill  for  the  transmutation 
of  metals  went  on  together.  In  imitation  of  the  real  stu¬ 
dents  there  arose  a  crowd  of  charlatans  and  fakirs  who 
imposed  upon  a  credulous  age  with  tricks  of  legerdemain 
and  fables  of  distant  lands.  One  of  these  was  Lu  Sheng, 
who  lived  about  225  B.C.  The  great  emperor  who  had 
overthrown  the  last  remnants  of  the  Chou  Dynasty,  who 
had  built  the  Great  Wall  and  burned  the  Confucian  classics, 
was  nevertheless  a  captive  to  fear  and  superstition.  He 
was  afraid  of  assassins*  He  shuddered  at  the  thought  of 
death.  He  fell  an  easy  victim  to  the  arts  of  Lu  Sheng. 
The  latter  was  an  alchemist,  but  he  had  had  no  more 
success  than  others. 


THE  ISLES  OF  THE  BLESSED 

In  219  B.C.  Lu  Sheng  told  the  emperor  of  the  “Isles 
of  the  Blessed,  ’  ’  P  ’englai,  Fangchang,  and  Yingchou,  which 
were  said  to  lie  in  the  ocean  70,000  li  (23,333  miles)  east 
of  China.  Living  there  were  people  who  were  already 
possessed  of  immortality  and  perfect  happiness.  In  these 
islands  there  was  growing  the  chili ,  a  plant  that  cures  old 
age  and  “all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.”  On  one  of 


Taoism 


329 


these  islands,  he  said,  there  was  a  mountain  of  jade  10,000 
feet  high,  from  whose  base  gushed  forth  the  fountain  of 
perpetual  youth,  the  taste  of  whose  waters  was  like  that 
of  sweet  wine.  Whoso  should  quaff  that  water  would  be 
intoxicated  with  delight  and  live  forever.  And  so  with 
the  Philosopher’s  Stone  and  the  Elixir  of  Immortality, 
there  came  to  be  associated  also  the  legend  of  the  Isles  of 
the  Blessed  and  the  Fountain  of  Youth. 

The  emperor  believed  the  fakir,  and  sent  an  expedition 
to  search  for  the  islands.  The  commander  of  the  expedi¬ 
tion,  named  Hsu,  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  returned 
saying  that  he  had  met  one  of  these  immortals  at  sea,  who 
had  asked  him  what  he  was  seeking,  and  that  he  had 
replied  that  he  was  in  search  of  the  elixir  of  immortality. 
The  immortal  had  then  told  him  that  the  gifts  which  the 
emperor  had  sent  were  too  valueless  for  the  purchase  of 
so  precious  an  article.  “You  may  see  the  elixir,”  he  had 
said,  “but  you  may  not  taste  it.”  On  being  asked  what 
gifts  the  immortal  desired  he  had  replied,  “Youths  and 
maidens  and  craftsmen  of  all  sorts.”  Accordingly  the 
emperor  sent  Hsii  to  sea  again,  accompanied  by  3000  youths 
and  maidens.  They  sailed  away  but  never  returned.  Some 
think  that  they  colonized  Japan. 


CELEBRATED  ALCHEMISTS 

Another  devotee  of  alchemy  was  Chang  Liang,  an  in¬ 
timate  friend  and  adviser  of  the  founder  of  the  Han 
Dynasty.  After  the  death  of  his  patron  he  retired  from 
public  life  and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  Taoism 
and  the  search  for  the  elixir  of  immortality.  This  he 
sought  by  fasting,  by  hygienic  living,  and  by  spiritual  ex¬ 
ercises,  but  also  by  the  compounding  and  use  of  drugs.  He 
failed,  and  died  in  189  B.C. 

An  Chi-sheng,  a  druggist,  is  said  to  have  succeeded  in 
compounding  the  pill  of  immortality.  But  he  ascended  to 
Heaven  from  the  White  Cloud  Mountain  and  carried  the 
secret  with  him.  It  is  discouraging  to  note  that  all  those 


330 


Taoism 


who  succeeded  in  the  search  for  immortality  found  it,  just 
as  ordinary  people  do,  by  passing  into  another  world. 

This  druggist  was  the  teacher  of  an  apprentice,  Li  Shao- 
chiin,  who  succeeded  in  winning  the  confidence  of  the  great 
Emperor  Wu  of  the  Han  Dynasty.  This  was  about  140 
B.C.  Li  said  to  the  emperor :  “I  know  how  to  harden  snow 
and  convert  it  into  white  silver;  I  know  how  cinnabar 
changes  its  nature  and  passes  into  yellow  gold.  I  can  rein 
the  flying  dragon  and  visit  the  ends  of  the  earth.  I  can 
bestride  the  hoary  crane  and  soar  above  the  ninth 
heaven.  ’  ’ 31 

The  Emperor  Wu  was  a  great  conqueror.  He  extended 
the  borders  of  China  to  the  southern  coast  and  annexed 
the  island  of  Hainan.  He  sent  the  great  explorer,  Chang 
Ch  ’ien,  into  central  Asia  and  contended  with  Turkish  tribes 
there.  He  made  his  influence  felt  as  far  as  the  frontiers 
of  Persia.  It  may  well  have  been  that  in  this  way  the  first 
knowledge  of  Chinese  alchemy  spread  to  the  West.  At  the 
beginning  of  his  reign  Wu  was  an  ardent  Confucianist ;  but 
his  mother  was  a  firm  believer  in  Taoism,  and  under  her  in¬ 
fluence  he  became  the  victim  of  charlatans.  He  listened 
to  the  boastful  words  of  Li  Shao-chun,  who  claimed  to  be 
possessor  of  supernatural  powers,  and  satisfied  the  emperor 
that  he  knew  the  secret  of  making  gold  and  of  living  with¬ 
out  eating  and  without  growing  old.  Li  urged  the  emperor 
to  study  alchemy,  saying:  “If  you  will  apply  yourself  to 
alchemy  you  will  convert  the  cinnabar  into  gold.  When 
the  gold  is  produced  make  of  it  a  vessel.  When  you  have 
eaten  and  drunken  from  this  vessel  you  will  be  assured  of 
great  longevity.  Then  you  may  go  and  visit  the  immortals 
on  the  island  of  P  ’englai.  When  you  have  seen  them,  then 
perform  the  ceremonies  of  feng  and  shan,  and  you  will 
never  die.  ’  ’ 32  He  did  as  he  was  told.  He  sacrificed  to 
the  God  of  the  Furnace  and  sent  an  expedition  in  search 
of  the  Isles  of  the  Blessed.  The  explorers  came  in  sight 
of  them  but  were  driven  back  by  contrary  winds. 

Li  Shao-chun  died,  but  his  patron  would  not  believe  that 

3i  See  Mayers’  Chinese  Readers  Manual,  under  Li  Shao-chiin. 

32Ch’ien  Han  Shu. 


Taoism 


331 


he  was  dead.  ‘  ‘  He  has  merely  changed  his  form,  ’  ’  he  said. 
He  could  find  no  one  to  tell  him  what  the  ceremonies  of 
feng  and  shan  were.  For  years  he  yielded  himself  to  the 
influence  of  the  alchemists,  but  at  last  in  his  old  age,  after 
he  had  been  led  by  the  intrigues  of  magicians  to  distrust 
his  own  son  and  heir  and  have  him  put  to  death,  he  con¬ 
fessed  that  he  had  been  duped.  “All  they  told  me,”  he 
said,  1 1  was  false.  ’  ’  He  built  a  tower  in  which  he  sat,  hop¬ 
ing  that  he  might  have  communication  with  the  spirit  of  his 
lost  son.  Upon  it  he  inscribed  these  words :  “  I  am  think¬ 
ing  of  my  son;  I  am  longing  for  his  return.” 

His  conquests  and  his  superstitions  made  him  a  great 
figure  in  Chinese  history.  Many  marvelous  tales  are  told 
of  his  reign.  Among  them,  preserved  in  painting  and  in 
literature,  is  the  story  of  the  visit  paid  him  by  the  Fairy 
Queen,  the  Hsi  Wang  Mu  of  that  ancient  work,  the  Shan 
Hai  King.  She  is  fabled  to  live  in  the  Kunlun  Mountains 
in  a  palace  of  jade,  surrounded  by  a  wonderful  garden. 
There  grows  the  peach  tree,  the  fruit  of  which  if  one  eat 
he  shall  live  forever.  Like  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  who  had 
heard  of  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  and  came  to  see  him,  the 
Queen  of  Fairyland  had  heard  of  the  glory  of  Wu  and 
came  to  see  him.  The  artists  picture  her  approach  with 
her  long  train  of  fairy  attendants.  The  story  tellers  relate 
that  these  royal  personages  became  much  enamored,  one 
of  the  other,  and  kept  up  their  correspondence  by  means 
of  love  birds — the  blue  birds  that  fly  always  in  pairs;  one 
with  a  wing  on  the  right,  the  other  with  a  wing  on  the 
left,  so  that  they  thus  support  each  other.  These  birds 
carried  the  love  notes  to  and  fro. 

But  the  awakening  of  Wu  at  the  close  of  his  reign  did 
.  not  stop  the  search  for  the  philosopher’s  stone,  nor  that  for 
the  elixir  of  immortality.  The  experiments  went  on  from 
generation  to  generation.  Prince  Liu-an,  who  was  a  grand¬ 
son  of  the  founder  of  the  Han  Dynasty,  lived  during  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Wu  and  died  in  122  B.C.  He  sought 
to  explain  the  origin  of  gold.  “It  grows  in  the  earth,” 
he  said,  “by  a  slow  process,  and  is  evolved  from  the  imma¬ 
terial  principle  underlying  the  universe,  passing  from  one 


332 


Taoism 


form  to  another  up  to  silver  and  then  through  silver  to 
gold.  ’  ’  Another  alchemist  held  that  gold  was  of  the  essence 
of  rock.  This  essence  after  a  long  period  becomes  quick¬ 
silver.  This  is  fluid  because  of  lunar  influence,  which 
belongs  to  the  principle  yin,  i.e.,  the  negative  and  the 
female  principle.  It  must  be  acted  upon  by  the  solar  prin¬ 
ciple,  yang ,  before  it  can  become  solid.  When  the  change 
takes  place  it  becomes  gold.  Cinnabar,  the  red  sulphide 
of  mercury,  was  the  substance  most  commonly  used  in  the 
experiments  of  the  alchemists.  With  it  many  other  sub¬ 
stances  were  combined,  such  as  arsenic,  borax,  potash  and 
mother-of-pearl.  This  last  was  highly  esteemed  by  the 
ancient  Chinese  as  having  the  power  of  preventing  disso¬ 
lution.  They  regarded  it  as  of  the  same  nature  as  jade, 
and  when  no  jade  was  at  hand  to  place  in  the  mouth  of 
a  corpse  they  used  mother-of-pearl.  Jade  was  the  most 
precious  of  substances — more  precious  than  gold — and  some 
of  the  experiments  were  devoted  to  the  production  of 
artificial  jade.  It  is  believed  by  some  that  this  led  to  the 
discovery  of  porcelain. 

Taoism  has  eight  celebrated  magicians,  usually  called  the 
“ eight  fairies,”  a  popular  theme  of  the  artists.  The 
Chinese  name,  hsien,  by  which  they  are  called,  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  a  character  composed  of  “man”  and  “moun¬ 
tain.”  It  is  the  man  alone  on  the  mountain — the  hermit 
— who  by  observation,  discipline  and  meditation  has  ac¬ 
quired  his  knowledge  of  nature  and  its  forces,  and  his 
power  to  work  miracles.  Of  the  eight  magicians  one  only 
was  a  woman,  Ho  Sien-ku,  who  lived  in  the  seventh  century 
A.D.  and  who  acquired  immortality  by  eating  mother-of- 
pearl.  She  traveled  over  the  hills  as  though  with  wings, 
and  is  reported  to  have  been  seen  floating  in  the  clouds. 

Chang  Kuo  was  a  more  interesting  character.  He  had 
a  white  mule  which  he  could  fold  up  and  put  in  his  wallet. 
When  he  wanted  to  use  him  he  spurted  water  upon  the 
wallet,  which  caused  the  mule  to  resume  his  proper  shape. 
This  wonderful  mule  could  travel  thousands  of  miles  a 
day,  and  cost  nothing  for  provender. 

Equally  interesting  was  Li  T’ieh-kuai,  who  could  sepa- 


Taoism 


333 


rate  his  spirit  from  his  body  and  visit  the  heavenly  regions. 
On  one  occasion  he  went  to  heaven  to  consult  Lao  Tzu 
and  left  his  body  in  charge  of  a  disciple,  who  was  to  keep 
the  p’o,  the  animal  soul,  alive  for  seven  days.  If  the 
wizard  did  not  return  on  the  seventh  day  the  p’o  was  to 
be  allowed  to  disperse.  The  disciple  carefully  tended  the 
body  and  the  animal  soul  for  six  days,  but  on  that  day 
he  received  word  of  his  mother’s  illness  and  went  home. 
On  the  evening  of  the  seventh  day  Li  returned  from  heaven 
to  find  that  his  body  was  no  longer  animated.  He  looked 
about  for  a  refuge  and  saw  a  lame  beggar  about  to  expire. 
When  the  beggar’s  spirit  had  departed  Li’s  spirit  took 
possession,  and  from  that  time  onward  he  dwelt  in  the 
body  of  the  lame  beggar  and  walked  with  an  iron  staff,  i.e., 
a  t’ieh  kuai,  hence  the  name. 

Alchemy  continued  to  find  many  devotees  through  the 
early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  and  had  royal  patron¬ 
age  down  to  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  During 
the  T’ang  Dynasty  there  was  constant  intercourse  between 
China  and  Persia.  Nestorian  Christianity  was  introduced 
into  the  capital  of  China  in  A.D.  635,  and  about  the 
same  time  Mohammedan  Arabs  established  a  mosque  at 
Canton.  It  is  easy  to  see,  therefore,  how  the  alchemy  of 
China  was  made  known  to  Persia,  Greece  and  Egypt,  and 
how  the  Arabs  later  became  the  special  agents  for  its  prop¬ 
agation  in  Western  Europe  in  the  eleventh  century.  As 
alchemy  lost  its  hold  in  China  it  increased  its  power  in 
Europe,  and  there,  through  the  great  intellectual  move¬ 
ments  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  became  the  herald  of 
modern  science. 


TAOISM  AS  A  RELIGION 

In  China,  however,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  A.D.  Taoism  had  ceased  to  be  a  philosophy  only, 
and  had  become  a  religion  as  well.  In  A.D.  166  a  temple 
was  erected  to  Lao  Tzu.  The  Old  Philosopher  became  a 
god.  This  transformation  was  probably  due  to  the  growing 
influence  of  Buddhism,  which  was  introduced  into  China 


334 


Taoism 


in  A.D.  68.  The  jealousy  of  the  Taoist  adepts  was  aroused. 
They  gathered  into  one  system  all  the  ancient  superstitions 
of  China,  and  in  imitation  of  Buddhism  built  temples  and 
filled  them  with  images.  The  old  councilor,  Chang  Liang, 
already  mentioned,  who  retired  from  office  when  the 
founder  of  the  Han  Dynasty  died  (B.C.  194),  was  declared 
to  have  been  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  the  sect,  and  his 
descendant  in  the  eighth  generation  (A.D.  34),  Chang 
Tao-ling,  who  was  declared  to  have  lived  to  be  123  years 
of  age,  was  proclaimed  as  the  first  pope,  although  he  had 
been  dead  more  than  a  hundred  years  when  this  honor  was 
conferred.  From  that  day  to  this  the  descendants  of  this 
Chang  Tao-ling  have  held  the  headship  of  the  sect.  In 
A.D.  423  the  emperor  conferred  upon  the  pope  of  that  day 
the  title  of  Heavenly  Teacher,  a  title  still  used  by  his 
successors.  In  A.D.  748  the  papal  authority  was  limited  to 
members  of  the  family  of  Chang  Tao-ling,  and  in  1016 
the  pope  was  granted  a  large  domain  in  the  province  of 
Kiangsi.  The  White  Deer  Grotto,  on  the  Dragon-Tiger 
Mountain,  is  still  the  papal  seat.  This,  in  fact,  was  the 
home  of  Chang  Tao-ling,  and  it  was  here,  according  to 
tradition,  that  he  discovered  the  elixir  of  immortality. 
After  reaching  the  age  of  123  years,  it  is  said,  he  as¬ 
cended  to  Heaven,  bequeathing  the  secret  to  his  son. 

THE  PANTHEON 

At  the  head  of  the  Taoist  pantheon  there  is  placed  a 
supreme  god,  called  the  Yu  Huang  Ta  Ti,  i.e.,  the  Gem 
Emperor  Great  God.  He  dwells  in  one  of  the  stars  of 
the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear,  and  from  his  throne 
there  is  believed  to  rule  the  universe.  This  universe  is 
organized  much  as  the  Chinese  Empire  was.  It  is  divided 
into  provinces,  prefectures,  and  counties.  Over  each  of 
these  divisions  a  subordinate  deity  presides.  Every  com¬ 
munity  has  its  presiding  spirit  and  each  family  its  kitchen 
god.  These  make  their  reports  to  their  superiors,  just  as 
in  the  days  of  the  empire  the  local  officials  did  to  the 
imperial  authorities. 


Taoism 


335 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  TAOISM 

Taoism  has  done  more  than  any  other  religion  to  per¬ 
petuate  the  harmful  superstitions  of  the  Chinese.  The 
belief  in  witchcraft,  the  dread  of  the  fox  spirit,  the  use 
of  mediums  to  communicate  with  the  dead,  belief  in  demon 
possession  and  the  practice  of  exorcism — all  these  are 
common  practices  of  the  Taoists.  The  ouija  board  was 
their  invention  many  centuries  ago,  and  charms  and  amu¬ 
lets  are  their  merchandise. 

The  Chinese  ouija  board  is  usually  a  table  covered 
witli  sand,  in  which  Chinese  characters  are  drawn  by  a 
forked  twig  of  the  peach  or  the  willow.  At  the  point 
where  the  two  branches  of  the  fork  join,  a  third  short 
branch  extends  downwards  towards  the  table  forming  a 
support.  After  sacrifice  and  invocation  to  the  spirit,  the 
operator  takes  hold  of  one  prong  of  the  twig  and  the 
questioner  the  other.  The  fork  is  held  over  the  table,  very 
much  as  well-seekers  hold  a  twig  of  witch-hazel.  Suddenly 
the  fork  bends  downwards  toward  the  table  and  writes  in 
the  sand.  But  it  takes  an  expert  to  find  in  the  scratching 
any  resemblance  to  Chinese  characters. 

There  is  great  fear  of  evil  spirits  among  the  ignorant 
Chinese.  These  are  supposed  to  be  everywhere  and  on 
the  alert  to  do  harm.  Many,  therefore,  are  the  charms 
and  amulets  used  for  the  protection  of  the  house  and  the 
person.  The  Taoist  pope  derives  a  considerable  revenue 
from  the  sale  of  cryptic  monograms,  which  are  pasted  on 
the  lintel  of  the  front  door  to  frighten  away  the  evil 
spirits.  Sometimes  a  screen  is  built  at  the  kerb,  just  in 
front  of  the  main  entrance.  It  is  said  that  evil  spirits  fly 
only  in  straight  lines,  and  cannot  pass  around  this  screen 
to  enter  the  door-way.  Probably  the  curious  images  that 
often  adorn  the  roof  are  also  of  Taoist  origin. 

The  theory  of  demon  possession  has  taken  a  strong  hold 
upon  the  Chinese,  and  all  the  phenomena  that  attend  such 
supposed  possession  in  other  lands  are  common  also  in 
China.  The  unfortunate  insane  are  by  many  regarded 


336 


Taoism 


as  possessed  of  the  devil,  but  they  are  not  treated  as  severely 
as  such  persons  were  in  mediaeval  Europe.  One  of  the 
principal  occupations  of  the  Taoist  is  that  of  an  exorcist. 
The  Taoist  pope  wields  a  sword  said  to  have  come  down 
to  him  from  Chang  Tao-ling,  a  sword  which  all  the  devils 
fear.  With  this  he  can  cast  out  evil  spirits  and  rid  haunted 
houses  of  the  ghosts  that  infest  them.  In  his  temple  on 
the  Dragon-Tiger  Mountain,  it  is  said,  there  are  numerous 
jars  in  which  demons  are  confined,  jars  sealed  with  the 
papal  seal,  which  holds  in  lasting  imprisonment  these  cap¬ 
tives  of  the  ex  calibur . 

The  fear  of  foxes  is  a  wide-spread  superstition.  There 
are  many  were-foxes  abroad,  it  is  believed.  They  are  said 
to  make  their  dens  in  old  cemeteries,  and  to  derive  a  great 
deal  of  vitality  from  the  remains  of  human  beings  upon 
which  they  feed.  They  delight  to  take  the  forms  of  young 
women,  and  are  reported  to  be  of  ravishing  beauty  and 
very  bewitching.  While  I  was  living  in  Nanking  there 
was  an  officer  in  charge  of  the  arsenal  there  who  was 
reported  to  be  very  superstitious.  He  kept  a  fox  skin  in 
his  room  and  was  a  worshiper  of  the  fox  spirit. 

It  is  the  influence  of  such  superstitions  as  these  that  has 
made  it  necessary  in  the  past  for  enlightened  officials  to 
please  the  masses  by  engaging  in  the  degrading  worship 
of  reptiles  and  inanimate  objects.  I  have  seen  a  small 
crocodile  carried  through  the  streets  of  Nanking  on  a  little 
platform  in  time  of  drought,  while  shop-keepers  contributed 
small  sums  of  money  to  the  bearers,  with  which  to  purchase 
incense  for  his  worship.  This  was  supposed  to  be  effective 
in  producing  the  much-needed  rain. 

When  the  Yellow  River  burst  its  banks  some  years  ago 
the  great  Viceroy,  Li  Hung-chang,  was  commanded  by  the 
Imperial  Government  to  leave  his  capital,  Tientsin,  and 
visit  a  little  town  on  the  bank  of  the  Yellow  River  to  wor¬ 
ship  a  small  serpent  that  had  escaped  from  the  flood.  This 
harmless  creature  was  reverently  carried  to  the  temple, 
where  the  Viceroy  was  required  to  pray  to  it  to  cause  the 
flood  to  subside. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  Peking  is  the 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  TA  KAO  TIEN,  WHERE  THE  EMPEROR  PRAYED  FOR  R  A 1 1ST. 


PRIVATE  CHAPEL  OF  EMPEROR. 


Taoism 


337 


Ta  Kao  Tien,  a  Taoist  temple  situated  across  the  street  a 
little  to  the  west  of  the  back  gate  of  the  Forbidden  City. 
In  the  court-yard  before  the  principal  entrance  to  the 
temple  are  two  pavilions  in  which  the  Taoist  monks  used 
to  chant  their  scriptures  in  time  of  drought.  Behind  the 
main  hall  of  the  temple  there  is  a  well  which  played  an 
important  part  in  the  service  for  bringing  rain. 

Many  deities  were  implored  in  time  of  drought.  High 
officials  in  the  provinces  and  at  Peking  used  to  visit  vari¬ 
ous  shrines  that  had  a  reputation  for  miracle  working,  but 
the  last  resort  was  an  appeal  by  the  Emperor  in  person 
to  the  spirit  of  a  well  in  the  southern  part  of  Chihli  Prov¬ 
ince.  An  iron  tablet  is  kept  suspended  in  the  water  of 
this  well,  and  thus  acquires  great  spirituality.  This  tablet 
was  carried  by  high  officials  to  Peking  and  suspended  in 
the  well  of  the  Ta  Kao  Tien.  There  it  was  worshiped 
by  His  Majesty  the  Emperor,  and  the  spirit  that  clung  to 
the  tablet  was  implored  to  bring  rain. 

It  will  be  gathered  from  this  that  any  object — a  tree 
or  stone — may  become  animated  by  a  spirit.  Such  indeed 
is  the  fetich  of  the  savage.  According  to  the  wise  man 
“ There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.”  Men  to-day  re¬ 
turn  in  their  philosophies  to  the  theories  of  their  primitive 
ancestors.  That  animals  and  plants,  and  perhaps  even  the 
so-called  inanimate  objects,  may  be  the  possessors  of  souls, 
is  one  of  the  favorite  theories  of  the  German  philosopher, 
Paulsen. 

Some  things,  of  course,  are  much  more  spiritual  than 
others.  Age  adds  to  spiritual  power.  Mt.  T’ai  in  Shan¬ 
tung  is  of  great  might.  Its  spirit  is  the  judge  before 
whom  the  dead  appear,  before  whom  all  devils  tremble. 
Thus,  if  one  take  a  stone  from  Mt.  T’ai  it  will  carry  with 
it  some  of  the  great  power  of  that  mountain.  In  all  parts 
of  China  you  will  find  stones  set  up,  usually  at  the  end  of 
a  lane,  which  bear  the  inscription:  “A  stone  from  Mt. 
T’ai  dares  to  oppose,”  i.e.,  oppose  the  coming  of  an  evil 
spirit.  It  may  be  that  the  stone  never  saw  Mt.  T’ai,  but 
the  devil  does  not  know  that. 

The  Chinese,  however,  are  not  the  only  superstitious 


S38 


Taoism 


people  in  the  world.  Other  peoples’  superstitions  are  al¬ 
ways  amusing,  but  what  of  our  own?  Frequently  one 
reads  in  the  daily  paper  a  brief  paragraph  headed  ‘  ‘  Astro¬ 
logical  Character  Builders.”  Many  read  it  as  an  amuse¬ 
ment — others  take  it  seriously.  Astrological  almanacs  are 
still  sold  in  the  United  States.  Relics  of  the  dead  are 
touched  for  healing  in  many  lands.  Palmistry  and  fortune¬ 
telling  are  profitable  occupations  in  all  our  large  cities. 
Charms  and  quackery  are  still  the  resort  of  many  for 
protection  against  evil  and  for  the  cure  of  disease.  Not 
long  since  I  read  on  the  front  page  of  the  Times,  of  London, 
the  advertisement  of  a  woman  who  claimed  to  be  an  expert 
in  laying  ghosts. 

As  long  as  these  superstitions  exist  in  the  West  it  is  not 
easy  to  throw  stones  at  the  Chinese.  But  after  all  alchemy 
is  the  mother  of  chemistry,  astrology  the  parent  of  astron¬ 
omy,  and  the  feng-shui  of  China  is  the  beginning  of  the 
science  of  physics.  All  our  superstitions  are  stumblings 
toward  the  light. 

Despite  its  failings  Taoism  has  a  very  admirable  ethical 
code.  The  Kang  Yin  P’ien,  which  is  known  to  all  Chinese, 
contains  such  beautiful  sentiments  as  the  following: 

There  are  no  gate-ways  to  calamity  or  blessing  save  those 
which  men  open  for  themselves.  The  recompense  of  good  and 
evil  follow  as  naturally  as  the  shadow  follows  the  substance. 

Enter  the  right  path;  avoid  the  wrong  path.  Do  not  walk  in 
the  way  of  evil. 

Be  compassionate  towards  all  creatures. 

First  correct  yourself,  and  then  convert  others. 

Have  pity  upon  the  orphaned;  assist  the  widow;  respect  the 
aged;  be  kind  to  children. 

Be  grieved  by  the  misfortunes  of  others  and  rejoice  in  their 
good  luck. 

Do  not  publish  the  faults  of  others  nor  praise  your  own  good¬ 
ness. 

Bear  insult  without  hatred;  accept  kindness  as  unexpected; 
bestow  charity  without  seeking  reward;  give  to  men  without 
regret. 

No  religion  that  upholds  an  ethical  code  with  such  precepts 
can  be  wholly  false. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


EARLY  FOREIGN  INTERCOURSE 
Be  kind  to  the  stranger  who  comes  from  afar. — Tseng  Tzu. 

In  327  B.C.  Alexander  the  Great  introduced  Grecian 
influence  into  Central  Asia  where  the  Greco-Bactrian  king¬ 
dom  was  subsequently  established.  He  extended  his  con¬ 
quests  also  into  the  Punjaub  in  northern  India,  a  region 
which  after  his  death  came  under  the  rule  of  Sandrokottos, 
or  Chandragupta,  as  he  was  known  in  India,  who  main¬ 
tained  close  relations  with  Seleucus  in  Syria.  Through  this 
channel  a  stream  of  Grecian  influence  flowed  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  period  into  India.  The  grandson  of  Chandra¬ 
gupta  was  Ashoka,  the  royal  patron  of  Buddhism,  whose 
conversion  was  to  that  religion  what  that  of  Constantine 
was  to  Christianity.  Buddhism  became  the  state  religion 
of  the  Punjaub  and  Ashoka  an  ardent  propagandist  who 
sent  missionaries  of  the  swastika  into  surrounding  coun¬ 
tries.  Buddhism  became  established  in  Central  Asia  about 
250  B.C.  Before  the  time  of  Ashoka  there  was  no  sculp¬ 
tured  image  of  the  Buddha  used  in  India.  Greek  artists 
were  employed  to  supply  the  need. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  GREECE 

But  in  170  B.C.  the  Punjaub  was  invaded  by  the  Bac- 
trians,  and  their  kingdom  later  was  overthrown  by  the 
Indo-Scythians  on  A.D.  25.  The  Indo-Scythians  in  turn 
accepted  Chinese  suzerainty  in  A.D.  229. 

Before  this  last  mentioned  date  a  new  school  of  sculpture 
had  sprung  up  in  Gandhara  which  was  even  more  decidedly 
Grecian  than  that  of  Ashoka.  The  artist  used  the  Greek 

339 


340 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


Apollo  as  his  model  for  the  image  of  the  Buddha.  He  was 
handicapped  by  the  requirement  that  the  urna  be  placed  be- 
tween  the  eyes,  and  by  the  demand  for  abnormally  long 
ear-lobes,  these  being  marks  of  Buddhahood.  He  marred 
the  image  by  complying  with  these  requirements,  but  he 
refused  to  represent  the  Buddha  as  a  shaven-pated  monk. 
Hence  we  still  have  the  very  un-Buddhistic  curly  locks. 
The  drapery,  too,  is  Grecian  rather  than  Indian.  Modern 
images,  of  course,  are  poor  copies,  for  they  are  made  by 
artisans,  not  by  artists.  Still  if  one  visits  a  Buddhist 
temple  anywhere  in  China  to-day  he  can  easily  trace  the 
features  of  the  Apollo  in  the  image  of  the  Sakya  Buddha. 

Chinese  expeditions  were  sent  into  Central  Asia  as  early 
as  the  second  century  B.C.,  and  it  was  quite  possible  for 
the  knowledge  of  Buddhism  to  have  been  carried  to  the 
Chinese  capital  at  that  time.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
A.D.  65  that  the  religion  was  officially  introduced  and  an 
image  of  the  Buddha  installed  in  the  imperial  palace. 

It  is  not  alone  in  the  images  of  the  Buddha  that  the 
influence  of  Greek  art  is  seen  in  China.  The  excavations 
of  Sir  Aurel  Stein  in  Chinese  Turkestan  have  uncovered 
the  ruins  of  ancient  Buddhist  temples  whose  frescoes  are 
undoubtedly  in  the  Greek  style.1  And  the  same  character¬ 
istics  are  to  be  found  in  the  heroic  statues  of  the  Lung 
Men  caves,  in  Honan  Province,  which  were  photographed 
and  described  by  the  late  Edouard  Chavannes.2  Traces 
of  the  same  influence  are  to  be  found  also  in  the  paintings 
of  the  Northern  Wei  period  (A.D.  386-532)  found  in  cer¬ 
tain  caves  of  north  China,  and  in  the  sepulchral  images  of 
the  T’ang  period  (A.D.  620-907),  many  of  which  have 
been  recovered  through  excavations  made  by  railway 
builders  in  recent  years  in  Honan  Province. 

This  Greek  influence,  however,  was  indirect.  It  accom¬ 
panied  an  Indian  religion.  There  was  never  any  direct 
communication  between  China  and  ancient  Greece.  As 
already  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter,  the  Buddhist 
missionaries  to  China  came  and  went  for  600  years.  Dur- 

1  See  "Sand  Buried  Ruins  of  Khotan”  and  "Desert  Cathay. ” 

2  In  his  "Mission  Archeologique  en  Chine.” 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


341 


ing  that  long  period  India  exerted  considerable  influence 
in  China,  not  only  in  religion  and  art  but  also  in  science, 
mathematics  in  particular,  and  in  philosophy. 


COMMERCE  WITH  ROME 

Trade  with  the  Chinese  was  known  to  the  elder  Pliny, 
who  speaks  of  the  silk,  furs  and  iron  brought  from  that 
country  to  Rome.3  When  the  Emperor  Wu  of  the  Han 
Dynasty  sent  Chang  Ch’ien  into  central  Asia,  in  the  second 
century  B.C.,  he  became  acquainted  with  Parthia;  and 
subsequently,  in  the  first  century  A.D.,  the  Chinese  Gen¬ 
eral,  Pan  Ch’ao,  sent  a  subordinate,  Kan  Ying,  into  Parthia 
with  instructions  to  visit  the  Roman  Empire,  or  at  least 
that  portion  of  it  which  had  become  known  to  China,  the 
province  of  Syria.  Kan  Ying  reached  the  head  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  but  was  deterred  from  making  the  voyage 
beyond  that  point  by  the  tales  told  him  of  the  hardships 
and  dangers  to  be  encountered. 

Trade,  however,  was  carried  on  between  the  Roman  and 
the  Chinese  through  the  Parthians.  The  trade  in  those 
days  was  conducted  by  land.  The  route  taken  was  across 
Turkestan  and  over  the  Pamirs  through  central  Asia, 
approximately  along  the  route  taken  now  by  the  Russian 
Central  Asian  Railway,  to  Persia  and  thence  to  the  Tigris 
at  Ctesiphon.  There  the  road  divided.  One  route  led  to 
the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  then  by  sea  around 
Arabia  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  at  Rekem,  Solomon’s 
Eziongeber,  and  from  there  by  land  to  Petra  and  Gaza. 
From  Gaza  part  of  the  trade  was  carried  to  Alexandria, 
and  a  part  up  the  coast  to  Antioch,  the  capital  of  the 
Roman  Orient. 

The  second  route  from  Ctesiphon  went  to  Zeugma,  on 
the  Euphrates,  which  was  crossed  by  a  bridge  of  boats, 
and  thence  over  the  desert  to  Tadmor,  or  Palmyra.  The 
trade  consisted  in  part  of  silk,  iron,  skins  and  hides  from 
China,  in  exchange  for  precious  stones,  jewelry,  glass,  tex- 

3  In  his  Natural  History. 


344  Early  Foreign  Intercourse 

piratical  attacks  upon  Chinese  coast  towns  by  Japanese 
free-booters.  The  Emperor  of  China  demanded  of  the  Jap¬ 
anese  ruler  that  he  arrest  and  punish  them.  He  did  so, 
and  sent  twenty  of  them  to  the  Chinese  court,  together  with 
an  offering  of  tribute.  The  Chinese  emperor  thanked  him, 
and  sent  the  pirates  to  Ningpo,  where  they  were  put  to 
death  by  being  thrown  into  a  cauldron  of  boiling  water.8 
The  Chinese  always  regarded  presents  as  tribute,  and  en¬ 
rolled  as  vassals  all  nations  that  sent  embassies.  In  the 
case  of  the  Japanese,  however,  it  is  asserted  in  the  histories 
that  China  supplied  Japan  with  its  official  calendar — a 
sign  of  vassalage,  and  that  in  1409,  when  Japan  announced 
the  death  of  the  Mikado,  China  sent  an  ambassador  who 
conferred  a  posthumous  name  upon  the  dead  monarch  and 
invested  his  successor. 

THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES 

In  the  track  of  the  Mohammedans,  came  from  Persia  the 
first  Christian  missionaries,  the  Nestorians,  who  reached 
the  Chinese  capital  in  A.D.  635.  They  were  well  received. 
They  translated  their  sacred  books  and  established  many 
churches.  But  when  the  Buddhists  under  later  reigns 
began  to  be  persecuted,  Christian  as  well  as  Buddhist  monks 
and  nuns  were  compelled  to  take  up  secular  occupations. 
The  churches,  however,  continued  to  exist,  and  were  pro¬ 
tected  by  the  Mongol  Dynasty.  But  their  teachers  were 
not  apparently  of  very  good  character,  for  Kublai  Khan 
requested  the  Polos  to  have  the  Pope  send  out  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries.  The  Nestorian  churches  were  no 
doubt  eventually  merged  into  those  of  the  Roman  faith. 


CONTROL  OF  THE  TRADE  ROUTES 

In  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries  the  sea¬ 
borne  trade  was  greatly  encouraged  by  the  Chinese  Govern- 

8  Chinese  History  of  the  Ming  Dynasty.  Also  Wieger  ’a  1 1  Textes 
Historique,  ’  ’  pp.  2020  and  2022 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


345 


ment,  which  derived  a  large  revenue  from  the  duties  on 
imports.  Canton,  Ch’uanchou  (near  modern  Amoy),  Foo¬ 
chow,  Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  all  participated  in  this  trade. 
But  after  the  conquest  of  the  greater  part  of  Asia  by  the 
Mongols  the  orderly  government  maintained  by  them  led 
to  a  revival  of  trade  by  land.  Constantinople  became  the 
European  entrepot  for  oriental  goods.  The  Arabs  still 
controlled  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  Alexandria  in  Egypt  was 
a  store-house  for  the  luxuries  of  India  and  China.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  European  nations  vied  with  one 
another  to  obtain  control  of  the  overland  trade.  The  ficti¬ 
tious  will  of  Peter  the  Great,  which  is  said  to  be  responsible 
in  a  large  degree  for  the  advance  of  Russia  across  Asia, 
declares  that  the  nation  that  controls  the  trade  of  the  Far 
East  will  rule  the  markets  of  Europe.  The  statement,  by 
whomever  made,  seems  based  upon  a  careful  observation 
of  history.  When  the  lucrative  trade  with  China  was 
enriching  Constantinople,  Venice  and  Genoa  struggled  with 
one  another  to  control  the  degenerate  government  on  the 
Bosphorus. 

In  1204  Venice  succeeded  in  converting  the  fourth  cru¬ 
sade  into  an  attack  upon  Constantinople,  where,  by  the  aid 
of  France,  she  was  able  to  replace  the  Greek  ruler  with 
a  Latin  emperor  in  the  person  of  Baldwin,  although  his 
power  was  limited  by  that  of  the  Doge  of  Venice,  who  was 
called  “Lord  of  one-fourth  and  one-half  of  the  Roman 
Empire.”  It  was  during  the  Venetian  control  of  Constan¬ 
tinople  that  the  Polo  brothers  engaged  in  commerce  there 
and  went  from  there  to  the  Crimea  and  thence,  in  A.D. 
1260,  to  Bokhara  and  on  to  Karakorum,  the  capital  of  the 
Mongol  emperors.  The  very  next  year  the  Genoese  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  driving  the  Venetians  out  of  Constantinople  and 
in  re-establishing  a  Greek  dynasty  there. 

The  Venetians,  driven  out  of  Constantinople,  made  Acre, 
on  the  east  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  a  starting  point  for 
the  overland  journey  of  their  caravans.  In  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries  the  Ottoman  Turks  rose  to  power, 
and  destroyed  the  peace  which  the  Mongols  had  pre¬ 
served  in  Asia.  Trade  was  interrupted,  and  eventually 


346 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


Constantinople  fell  into  Turkish  hands.  Before  this  last 
calamity  had  happened,  the  Venetians,  finding  the  overland 
traffic  impossible,  entered  into  alliance  with  the  Sultan 
of  Egypt  and  formed  a  combination  with  the  Arab  traders. 
Then  the  merchant  of  Venice  became  the  arbiter  of  the 
exchanges  of  Europe.  But  many  cities  in  Europe  became 
jealous  of  Venice  and  planned  to  obtain  a  share  of  the 
oriental  trade.  The  old  rival,  Genoa,  produced  a  vigorous 
young  navigator,  Christopher  Columbus,  who  tried  to  con¬ 
vince  the  merchants  of  various  countries  that  by  sailing  due 
west  over  the  Atlantic  one  could  reach  Marco  Polo ’s  Cipango 
(Japan)  and  Cathay  (China).  He  found  the  Portuguese 
deeply  interested  in  another  plan,  which  was  to  get  to  the 
Far  East  by  circumnavigation  of  Africa.  This  was  the  plan 
which  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  had  bequeathed  to  them. 
He  had  begun  his  explorations  in  1415,  but  died  in  1463 
before  the  Cape  had  been  reached.  In  1487  Bartholomew 
Diaz  reached  the  Cape  of  Storms,  whose  name  was  after¬ 
ward  changed  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ten  years  later 
Vasco  da  Gama  circumnavigated  the  continent  of  Africa, 
and  in  1498  reached  India.  Although  they  were  hospitably 
received  in  India  they  kidnaped  the  natives,  and  were 
soon  engaged  in  wars  of  conquest  marked  by  great  violence 
and  cruelty.  Thus  they  built  up  a  vast  empire  in  the 
east,  and  absolutely  destroyed  every  vestige  of  the  flourish¬ 
ing  commerce  of  the  Arabs.  Nevertheless,  the  Arabs  left 
their  imprint  upon  China.  They  introduced  Mohammedan¬ 
ism  into  the  south-eastern  ports  and  into  Turkestan  in  the 
north-west.  The  Emperor  Ming  Huan  of  the  T  ’ang 
Dynasty,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  brought  in 
a  force  of  Arab  mercenary  troops  to  the  number  of  about 
4000.  These  remained  in  the  heart  of  China,  married 
Chinese  wives,  and  settled  colonies  of  Mohammedans  in 
most  of  the  large  cities  of  central  China.  To-day  there 
are  some  fifteen  million  Mohammedans  in  the  country. 
There  are  fifteen  mosques  in  Peking,  and  numerous  others 
in  the  commercial  capitals  of  the  country. 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


347 


PORTUGAL  AND  CHINA 

In  1511  the  Portuguese  attacked  Malacca  without  provo¬ 
cation  and  captured  it.  The  Malay  Sultan  appealed  to  his 
overlord,  the  Emperor  at  Peking,  but  he  did  not  recover 
his  capital.  He  retained  a  portion  of  his  kingdom,  how¬ 
ever,  and  his  descendants  still  rule  over  it  from  Johore 
under  the  protection  of  the  British  government. 

In  1516  the  Portuguese  made  a  visit  to  China  to  pros¬ 
pect.  The  next  year  they  sent  four  of  their  own  vessels 
and  four  Malay  ships  from  Malacca  to  the  island  of  San 
Chuan,  whose  name  resembled  so  closely  the  Portuguese 
for  St.  John  that  the  place  became  known  to  Europeans 
as  St.  John’s  Island.  From  this  place  they  were  permitted 
to  send  two  vessels  to  Canton  to  trade.  One  of  them  carried 
an  envoy  from  the  King  of  Portugal,  named  Thome  Pires, 
wdio  asked  permission  to  visit  Peking.  The  reply  from 
Peking  was  that  Portugal  ought  first  to  restore  to  Malacca 
the  territory  taken  from  the  Sultan. 

On  this  visit  the  Portuguese  behaved  very  circumspectly, 
so  that  the  charges  made  against  them  by  the  jealous  Arabs 
seemed  to  be  without  foundation.  In  1520,  therefore,  word 
came  that  Pires  might  proceed  to  Peking.  He  arrived 
there  in  January,  1521,  but  in  1522  he  was  sent  back  in 
chains,  and  died  in  prison  at  Canton  in  1523. 

This  severe  treatment  was  due  to  the  fact  that  after 
the  envoy’s  departure  for  Peking  there  arrived  at  St. 
John’s  Island  a  second  fleet  of  Portuguese  vessels,  whose 
commander  in  utter  disregard  of  Chinese  sovereignty,  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  build  a  fort  and  attempted  to  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  the  inhabitants.  Officers  and  crews  alike  behaved 
with  great  insolence  and  cruelty.  It  was  charged  that  they 
were  kidnaping  women  and  girls.  These  acts  confirmed 
the  earlier  reports  of  the  Arabs  that  the  Portuguese  were 
bent  on  conquest.  The  Chinese  retaliated  upon  the  envoy. 
The  Portuguese  continued  to  come,  however,  and  gradually 
established  considerable  colonies  at  Ningpo,  Foochow,  and 
Ch’iianchou  (near  modern  Amoy),  Their  licentiousness 


348 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


and  cruelty  became  so  unbearable  that  in  1545  an  imperial 
edict  from  Peking  directed  that  they  should  be  attacked 
wherever  found,  on  sea  or  land.  A  massacre  at  Ningpo 
that  year  destroyed  the  colony  there,  and  that  at  Ch’iian- 
chou  in  1549  was  likewise  exterminated.  A  few  survivors 
escaped.  These  gathered  at  Lampacao,  a  small  island  near 
Macao.  A  few  years  later  they  aided  the  Chinese  in  sup¬ 
pressing  piracy  along  the  coast,  and  in  1557  obtained  per¬ 
mission  to  build  some  drying  sheds  at  Macao.  This  grew 
into  a  Portuguese  settlement.  The  Chinese,  however,  con¬ 
tinued  to  exercise  control  over  the  place  until  1848.  The 
Portuguese,  in  recognition  of  Chinese  sovereignty,  had  paid 
rent  until  that  year,  when  they  drove  out  the  Chinese 
authorities  and  claimed  ownership.  This  was  not  recog¬ 
nized  by  China  until  1887.  Macao  was  for  many  years 
the  only  port  at  which  Europeans  and  Americans  were 
allowed  to  reside. 

There,  too,  the  Portuguese  maintained  their  reputation 
for  cruelty.  During  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury  the  port  was  notorious  for  the  coolie  traffic.  Tens  of 
thousands  of  Chinese  were  lured  from  their  homes  by  false 
promises.  Others  were  kidnaped.  They  were  held  in 
barracoons  until  a  shipload  had  been  assembled.  Then 
they  were  packed  in  foul  quarters  in  the  hold,  where  many 
died,  and  shipped  to  Peru  and  Cuba,  where  they  were 
virtually  sold  into  slavery.  American  and  British  vessels 
were  forbidden  by  their  governments  to  engage  in  the  busi¬ 
ness,  and  in  1871  an  appeal  by  the  coolies  in  Peru  to  the 
American  Minister  there  led  to  an  exposure  of  the  infamy 
and  to  the  suppression  of  the  traffic. 

Not  all  the  Portuguese  were  vicious.  In  1552  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  “the  Apostle  to  the  Indies/'  arrived  at  St.  John’s 
Island,  intending  to  begin  missionary  work  in  China.  He 
had  just  met  with  remarkable  success  in  Japan.  But  he 
was  stricken  with  fever  immediately  after  his  arrival  at 
St.  John’s  Island,  and  died  without  setting  foot  in  China. 
He  was  followed  in  1584  by  Ricci,  whose  work  was  con¬ 
tinued  by  Verbiest,  Adam  Schaal,  and  others  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  These  men  acquired  great  influence  at  the  Court 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


349 


in  Peking,  but  lost  it  when  a  dispute  arose  between  the 
Jesuits  and  other  Catholic  orders  over  the  toleration  by 
the  former  of  the  worship  of  ancestors  by  Chinese  converts. 

In  1580  Philip  II  of  Spain  united  Portugal  to  his  crown. 
Philip  was  having  trouble  with  his  Dutch  subjects.  They 
had  been  accustomed  to  buying  at  Lisbon  such  oriental 
products  as  they  needed,  but  since  they  were  at  war  with 
Philip  that  port  was  closed  against  them.  Thereupon,  they 
proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the  Portuguese  empire  in 
the  Far  East.  Nothing  remains  to  Portugal  to-day  but 
Macao,  in  China,  the  half  of  the  island  of  Timor,  and 
Goa  on  the  west  coast  of  India,  which  is  still  the  capital 
of  the  Portuguese  possessions  in  the  east. 


THE  DUTCH  AND  CHINESE 

Despite  the  success  of  the  Dutch  in  their  contest  with 
the  Portuguese,  and  the  favorable  position  which  they  had 
secured  in  Japan,  they  made  but  little  headway  in  their 
endeavors  to  build  up  a  trade  with  China.  Their  first 
vessel  arrived  at  Canton  in  1604,  but  they  failed  then,  and 
repeatedly  in  later  efforts,  to  supplant  the  Portuguese 
there.  They  took  possession  of  Formosa  and  the  Pesca¬ 
dores,  but  were  driven  out  by  Koxinga.  They  performed 
the  kotow  at  Peking,  which  other  Europeans  refused  to 
do,  but  it  won  them  nothing  save  the  privilege  of  carrying 
tribute  to  Peking  once  in  eight  years,  and  thus  having  their 
countrymen,  the  liberty-loving  Nctherlanders,  listed  as 
vassals  of  the  Chinese.  It  was  not  until  1762  that  they 
were  allowed  to  establish  a  hong  at  Canton. 


SPAIN  AND  CHINA 

The  Spanish  possession  of  the  Philippines  brought  them 
of  necessity  into  communication  with  the  Chinese,  who  for 
centuries  have  had  colonies  in  those  islands.  Their  pros¬ 
perity  there  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Spaniards.  Ef- 


350 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


forts  were  made  to  keep  the  Chinese  out  by  terrorizing 
them.  Twenty  thousand,  it  is  asserted,  were  massacred 
by  the  Spaniards  in  1603,  and  twenty-two  thousand  more 
in  1639.  But  they  continued  to  come.  A  head  tax  levied 
in  later  years  scarcely  checked  the  immigration.  Most  of 
the  Chinese  in  the  Philippines  have  come  from  the  vicinity 
of  Amoy.  Our  purchase  of  the  islands  has  brought  to  the 
American  Consulate  at  Amoy  and  the  Legation  at  Peking 
a  number  of  important  diplomatic  questions  growing  out 
of  the  presence  in  Fukien  Province  of  Chinese  residents 
of  the  Philippines  who  claim  citizenship  in  the  islands  and 
the  protection  of  the  American  government. 


THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  BRITISH 

The  first  British  vessel  reached  China  in  1637.  Captain 
Weddell  had  taken  the  precaution  to  obtain  a  permit  to 
trade  there  from  the  Portuguese  authorities  at  Goa,  but  the 
jealous  Portuguese  at  Macao  declined  to  recognize  it  as 
valid,  and  proceeded  to  put  difficulties  in  the  way.  Weddell 
was  fired  upon  by  the  Chinese  at  the  Bogue,  but  replied 
so  forcibly  as  to  put  the  forts  out  of  business  for  a  time. 
He  proceeded  to  Canton  as  though  he  had  been  firing  a 
salute,  loaded  with  sugar  and  ginger  and  sailed  away.  Sub¬ 
sequent  efforts  of  the  British  were  unsuccessful  until,  in 
1670,  they  opened  trade  at  Amoy  and  in  Formosa.  In  1644 
the  Ming  Dynasty  was  overthrown  by  the  Manchus,  but 
the  latter  did  not  succeed  in  conquering  southern  China 
until  1685.  That  year  all  the  ports  of  China  were  thrown 
open  to  foreign  trade  by  the  Manchus,  who  had  not  yet 
learned  to  distrust  the  Europeans.  The  British  did  not 
at  once  take  advantage  of  the  opening;  it  was  not  until 
1689  that  the  British  East  India  Company  sent  another 
vessel  to  Canton.  From  that  time  to  the  present  the 
British  have  held  the  foremost  place  in  China’s  foreign 
trade,  and,  generally  speaking,  have  taken  the  lead  both 
in  the  promotion  of  commercial  enterprises  and  in  the  set¬ 
tlement  of  diplomatic  questions. 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


351 


When  the  Manchus  threw  open  the  ports  of  China  to 
foreign  trade  they  were  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the 
character  of  Europeans,  and  did  not  apparently  anticipate 
any  friction  with  them.  This  liberal  attitude  soon  changed. 
The  policy  of  the  Mings  was  revived,  and  foreign  traders 
were  allowed  access  at  the  port  of  Canton  only.  The  sea¬ 
men  of  the  17th  and  18th  centuries  were  not  over-scrupu¬ 
lous.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  lawlessness.  Kidnaping 
and  slave-dealing  were  not  uncommon,  and  smuggling  was 
connived  at  by  customs  authorities  in  Europe  as  well  as 
in  China. 

Shaw’s  Journals  record  that  many  of  the  British  vessels, 
owned  in  India,  “carried  on  a  smuggling  trade  with  the 
Dutch  settlements  in  and  about  Malacca,  and  with  the 
natives,  whom  they  supplied  with  opium,  clothing  and  fire¬ 
arms,  etc.,  in  return  for  which  they  received  pepper,  block 
tin  and  spices. ’  ’ 9  These,  with  articles  from  India,  were 
carried  to  China  and  sold.  “The  establishments  of  the 
Swedes  and  Danes”  were  principally  supported,  so  the 
journals  state,  “by  the  smuggling  trade  they  carried  on 
in  the  channel  and  upon  the  coasts  of  Britain.”10 

The  British  trade  was  a  monopoly  of  the  East  India 
Company  until  1834.  But  the  captains  and  officers  in  the 
service  of  the  company  were  allowed  to  engage  in  private 
trade  and  given  certain  cargo  space  in  the  vessels.  This 
they  filled,  so  Shaw  tells  us,  “with  fine  teas,  cassia,  Nankin 
cloths,  porcelain,  etc.,  a  considerable  part  of  which,  on 
their  entering  the  English  Channel,  is  disposed  of  to  smug¬ 
glers,  between  whom  and  the  custom  house  officers  there 
was  always  a  clear  understanding.  ”  11  It  was  not  remark¬ 
able,  therefore,  that  in  China  too  there  was  smuggling  with 
connivance  of  the  customs  officials.  It  was  opium  exported 
from  India  that  was  especially  compelled  to  seek  illicit 
channels  for  introduction  into  China. 

The  poppy  plant  was  introduced  by  the  Arabs  in  the 
8th  century  A.D.  A  decoction  of  its  seeds  was  used  in 

9  Journals  of  Major  Samuel  Shaw,  p.  169, 

10  Ibid.,  p.  171. 

u  Ibid.,  p.  173, 


3  52 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


medicine  for  a  soporific.  In  the  10th  century  the  exhila¬ 
rating  effects  of  the  drink  were  sung  by  the  Chinese  poets 
of  the  Sung  Dynasty.  It  was  not  until  the  15th  century 
that  the  opium  began  to  be  imported  as  a  medicine.  In 
the  16th  century  it  was  produced  in  India  and  China,  but 
its  uses  were  medicinal  only.  In  1620  tobacco  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  China  from  the  Philippines.  Imperial  edicts 
forbidding  its  use  were  powerless  to  prevent  smoking.  In 
its  preparation  certain  drugs  were  used ;  among  them  was 
opium.  Thus  a  taste  for  opium  was  cultivated.  In  time 
the  tobacco  was  omitted  and  the  opium  was  smoked  alone. 
The  habit  spread  rapidly,  and  was  soon  recognized  as  a 
social  evil.  In  1729  an  imperial  edict  prescribed  severe 
penalties  for  those  who  sold  it,  and  later  the  death  penalty 
was  prescribed  for  those  who  smoked;  but  the  law  was  too 
severe  and  became  a  dead  letter.  For  a  time  the  drug  con¬ 
tinued  to  be  imported  for  medicinal  purposes  and  paid 
a  light  import  duty,  but  smoking  opium  was  made  contra¬ 
band.  The  difficulty  of  distinguishing  between  opium  for 
medicinal  purposes  and  opium  for  smoking  finally  led  to 
the  prohibition  of  the  import  altogether. 

In  the  early  years  of  British  trade  the  ships  of  the  East 
India  Company  engaged  in  the  traffic,  but  after  the  more 
stringent  edicts  of  1800  the  company’s  ships  were  forbidden 
to  accept  cargoes  of  the  drug.  Other  British  vessels,  how¬ 
ever,  continued  the  business,  in  which  many  merchants  of 
other  nationalities  also  engaged.  Americans  were  inter¬ 
ested  in  it  from  1810  onwards.  Before  the  first  war  be¬ 
tween  China  and  Great  Britain  it  made  up  an  appreciable 
part  of  our  imports  into  China,  and  constituted  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-third  of  the  total  imports  from  all  countries. 
Much  of  the  opium  handled  by  the  Americans  was  brought 
from  Turkey.  Britons  were  forbidden  to  deal  in  Turkish 
opium,  which  competed  with  that  from  India.  It  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  say,  however,  that  the  American  government  never 
countenanced  the  trade,  and  its  officers  repeatedly  warned 
Americans  that  those  engaging  in  it  would  have  no  pro¬ 
tection  from  their  government.  There  were  always,  of 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


353 


course,  large  numbers  of  British  and  American  merchants 
who  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  evil  traffic. 

The  opium  was  brought  in  foreign  vessels  to  the  China 
coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton,  and  sold  for  cash  to  Chinese 
smugglers,  who  bribed  their  own  customs  officers  to  permit 
them  to  land  it.  This  contraband  traffic  and  the  friction 
created  by  it  became  one  of  the  causes  that  led  to  the  first 
war  between  China  and  Great  Britain. 

This,  however,  was  only  one  of  a  number  of  causes  con¬ 
tributing  to  the  disturbance  of  friendly  relations  between 
the  two  powers.  The  Chinese  were  arrogant.  They  re¬ 
garded  themselves  as  the  only  civilized  people  on  earth, 
and  looked  upon  all  others  as  barbarians.  The  Europeans 
and  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  considered  themselves 
superior  to  the  Chinese,  and  were  satisfied  that  the  Euro¬ 
pean  way  of  doing  things  was  the  only  right  way.  The 
refusal  of  the  Emperor  to  receive  foreign  envoys  without 
the  kotow,  and  the  assumption  of  China  that  all  other  na¬ 
tions  were  her  tributaries,  angered  the  western  world. 
Petty  restrictions  imposed  by  the  Chinese  upon  foreign 
residents,  the  bankruptcy  of  Chinese  firms  that  were  in  debt 
to  European  merchants  for  loans  contracted  in  violation  of 
Chinese  law,  the  prohibition  to  deal  with  any  firms  outside 
the  co-hong,  and  the  extra-legal  charges  imposed  by  officials 
— all  these  things  helped  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  dis¬ 
trust  and  bitterness,  which  could  be  cleared  only  by  the 
lightning  of  war. 


THE  RUSSIAN  ADVANCE  IN  THE  ORIENT 

The  year  1689,  in  which  the  British  East  India  Company 
succeeded  in  establishing  itself  in  Canton,  was  also  the 
year  in  which  the  first  treaty  between  China  and  a  Euro¬ 
pean  power  was  signed.  That  was  the  treaty  of  Nerchinsk 
between  Russia  and  China,  by  whose  terms  the  Russians 
were  compelled  to  evacuate  the  valley  of  the  Amur  and 
agree  to  make  the  Yablonoi  Mountains  the  boundary  be¬ 
tween  Siberia  and  Manchuria. 


354  Early  Foreign  Intercourse 

The  story  of  Russia’s  advance  across  Siberia  is  a  thrill¬ 
ing  one,  rivaling  that  of  our  own  pioneers  who  pushed 
the  western  frontier  over  the  Alleghenies,  across  the  Miss¬ 
issippi,  and  beyond  the  Sierras  to  the  coast  of  the  Pacific. 

In  Moscow,  next  to  the  Kremlin,  the  most  noted  place 
is  the  Kitai  Gorod — i.e.,  the  “Chinese  City.”  China  to 
the  Russians  is  still  Kitai,  just  as  to  Marco  Polo  it  was 
Cathay,  another  form  of  the  same  word.  The  history  of 
the  Kitai  Gorod  reaches  far  back  into  the  past,  to  a  time 
when  the  Grand  Dukes  of  Moscow  were  subjects  of  the 
Mongols  and  received  their  investiture  from  the  Grand 
Khan.  It  was  in  1535  that  Plelena,  mother  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  surrounded  the  Kitai  Gorod  with  its  own  stone 
wall.  Even  then  its  shops  and  ware-houses  were  stored 
with  the  precious  treasures  of  the  East. 

But  Russia’s  relations  with  China  began  still  earlier.  In 
1340,  during  the  Mongol  Dynasty,  made  famous  by  Kublai 
Khan,  Russian  imperial  guards  were  employed  by  the 
emperors  of  China.  It  was  Sophie  Paleologus,  niece  of  the 
last  emperor  of  Christian  Constantinople,  who  was  unwill¬ 
ing  to  be  subject  to  the  Mongols,  and  who  pushed  her 
husband,  Ivan  III,  into  the  daring  revolt  that  put  an  end 
to  Tartar  dominion  over  Russia.  The  first  Russian  em¬ 
bassy  to  China  was  sent  in  1567,  but  was  no  more  successful 
in  its  efforts  to  establish  relations  with  Peking  than  that 
of  Portugal  which  preceded  it  but  a  few  years. 

The  history  of  Asiatic  Russia  gathers  about  three  great 
names;  those  of  Yermak,  Khabaroff,  and  Muravieff.  On 
the  first  of  September,  1581,  at  that  period  the  Russian 
New  Year’s  Day,  Yermak,  an  ex-pirate  with  a  price  upon 
his  head,  led  a  band  of  adventurers  over  the  Urals  to 
explore  the  wilderness,  subdue  the  savages,  and  enrich 
his  employers,  the  Stroganoffs,  with  the  stores  of  furs  to 
be  obtained.  Pie  subdued  the  tribes  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ob,  captured  Sibir,  the  capital  of  a  Mongol  chieftain,  and 
gave  its  name  to  the  surrounding  region,  which  became 
Siberia,  a  name  extended  to  most  of  Asiatic  Russia.  The 
great  Tzar  pardoned  his  former  offenses,  and  his  memory 
to-day  is  held  in  honor  by  Russia’s  millions.  He  perished 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse  3 55 

in  the  struggle  with  the  Mongols,  but  his  successors  pushed 
on  their  exploitations,  and  in  fifty-five  years  from  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  Yermak’s  work,  i.e.,  in  1636,  they  reached  the 
Pacific.  In  1644  when  the  Manchus  were  attacking  Peking, 
the  Russians  entered  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Amur.  It 
was  left  for  Khabaroff  to  colonize  the  valley.  He  entered 
it  in  1650,  although  it  was  already  occupied  by  subjects 
of  the  Manchu  Emperor  of  China.  In  1657  he  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Ussuri,  and  built  a  fort  on  the  bluff  at 
whose  base  the  waters  of  the  Ussuri  mingle  with  those  of 
the  Amur.  To-day  this  bluff  is  occupied  by  a  city  which 
bears  his  name,  Khabaroffsk.  Here  he  was  attacked  by 
the  Chinese.  Numerous  engagements  followed,  and  event¬ 
ually  the  Russians,  poorly  supported  by  the  Tzar’s  govern¬ 
ment,  had  to  withdraw  from  the  Amur  Valley  and  agree, 
in  the  treaty  of  Nerchinsk  in  1689,  to  fix  the  boundary 
at  the  water-shed  which  shuts  in  the  valley  on  the  north. 
This  remarkable  treaty  is  the  longest  lived  treaty  on  record. 
Although  slightly  modified  in  1727  and  1768  it  formed 
the  basis  of  Russia’s  relations  with  China  until  superseded 
by  the  treaty  of  Tientsin  in  1858. 

It  is  of  interest  for  another  reason  also.  In  it  for  the 
first  time  China  recognized  the  equality  of  a  foreign  state. 
It  is  sometimes  said  that  it  granted  Russia  extraterritorial 
jurisdiction  in  China.  This  is  incorrect.  The  significance 
of  the  articles  dealing  with  the  punishment  of  offenses  com¬ 
mitted  by  the  subjects  of  either  power  in  the  territority 
of  the  other  is  their  mutuality.  “  Subjects  of  either  nation¬ 
ality  who  pass  the  frontier  for  private  business  and  commit 
crimes  of  violence  to  property  and  life  are  to  be  arrested 
and  sent  to  the  frontier,  to  be  handed  over  to  the  chief 
local  authority  of  their  own  country  to  be  punished.” 
They  are  recognized  as  under  the  protection  of  their  own 
government,  but  that  government  cannot  exercise  juris¬ 
diction  over  them  until  the  offender  is  returned  to  its 
own  territory. 

Muravieff,  the  third  great  name  in  Siberian  history,  was 
that  of  a  man  entirely  different  in  character  from  the  two 
explorers.  He  was  a  young  military  officer  who  had  dis- 


356 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


tinguished  himself  in  the  war  with  Turkey,  but  in  his  deal¬ 
ings  with  China  displayed  remarkable  diplomatic,  rather 
than  military,  qualities. 

Sent  to  the  Far  East  in  1854,  during  the  Crimean  War, 
to  prevent  the  seizure  of  Kamtchatka  by  the  British  and 
French,  by  his  tact  he  managed  to  preserve  friendly  rela¬ 
tions  with  the  Chinese,  while  using  the  Amur  River,  with¬ 
out  Chinese  permission,  for  the  transport  of  troops  and 
supplies.  The  Chinese  were  fully  occupied  in  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  the  Taiping  Rebellion.  They  could  not  afford 
to  go  to  war  with  Russia.  Moreover  the  British  and  French 
were  pressing  China  with  demands  that  led  to  the  war 
of  1858  and  1860,  and  Muravieff  utilized  to  his  own  advan¬ 
tage  the  ill  feeling  of  China  towards  Britain  and  France. 
To  Chinese  protests  he  replied  by  referring  them  to  the 
representative  of  Russia  in  China,  who,  with  the  represen¬ 
tative  of  the  United  States,  was  watching  developments 
around  Canton  and  Shanghai.  In  the  end  he  obtained 
for  Russia  without  any  military  action,  or  even  the  threat 
of  force,  the  cession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Amur  and  the 
maritime  province  east  of  the  Ussuri.  This  gave  Vladi¬ 
vostok  to  the  Tzar. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  AMERICAN  RELATIONS 

Our  commerce  with  China  began  immediately  after  the 
close  of  the  war  of  the  revolution.  The  treaty  of  peace 
with  Great  Britain  was  signed  in  1783.  In  February,  1784, 
the  good  ship,  Empress  of  China ,  sailed  from  New  York 
for  Canton,  where  it  arrived  on  August  28th.  The  vessel 
was  commanded  by  Captain  Green,  but  the  venture  wrns 
in  charge  of  Major  Samuel  Shaw,12  who  became  later  the 
first  official  representative  of  the  United  States  in  China. 
He  was  a  young  man  who  had  enlisted  in  the  revolutionary 
army  as  soon  as  he  came  of  age,  in  October,  1775.  He 
was  commissioned  a  Lieutenant  of  Artillery,  and  fought 

12  The  Journal  of  Major  Samuel  Shaw,  with  a  life  of  the  author 
by  Josiah  Quincy,  is  authority  for  the  statements  relating  to  Shaw 
that  are  made  in  this  chapter. 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


357 


in  every  important  engagement  of  the  war.  At  its  close 
he  found  himself  a  major,  but  penniless  and  in  debt.  When 
he  offered  his  services  to  certain  merchants  of  New  York 
as  supercargo  for  a  shipment  to  China  his  offer  was 
promptly  accepted.  The  cargo  was  chiefly  ginseng,  a  mild 
tonic  for  which  the  Chinese  still  have  an  appetite.  Shaw 
dilated  in  his  report  upon  the  advantage  which  the  Ameri¬ 
cans  had  over  European  competition  in  that  “the  other¬ 
wise  useless  produce  of  our  mountains  and  forests”  (i.e., 
ginseng)  would  suffice  in  a  considerable  degree  to  procure 
for  us  the  “elegant  luxury,”  tea. 

It  was  French  friendship  that  gave  most  assistance  to 
the  young  American  in  initiating  his  enterprise.  In  the 
Straits  of  Sunda,  at  Java  Head,  he  fell  in  with  two  French 
war-ships  which  had  been  loaned  by  the  king  to  French 
merchants.  The  French  officers  invited  him  to  accompany 
them,  and  the  three  vessels  sailed  together  to  Macao.  As¬ 
sociation  in  the  war  of  the  revolution  had  created  strong 
ties  between  the  peoples  of  the  two  countries.  Shaw’s 
journal  contains  the  following  entry  concerning  his  arrival 
at  Canton: 

From  Macao  we  proceeded  towards  Canton,  and  on  the  morn¬ 
ing  of  the  28  (August)  on  opening  the  shipping  at  Whangpoa 
(14  miles  below  Canton),  we  saluted  them  with  13  guns,  which 
were  returned  by  the  vessels  of  each  nation.  At  eight  o’clock 
we  came  to  anchor,  and  again  complimented  the  shipping  with 
13  guns. 

Previously  to  our  coming  to  anchor,  the  French  ships  sent 
two  boats,  with  anchors  and  cables,  under  an  officer,  who  assisted 
us  in  getting  into  a  good  berth,  and  staid  on  board  until  we 
were  moored.  The  Danish  sent  an  officer  to  compliment;  the 
Dutch  sent  a  boat  to  assist;  and  the  English  an  officer  “to  wel¬ 
come  your  flag  to  this  part  of  the  world.” 

•  •••••• 

The  behavior  of  the  gentlemen  on  board  the  respective  ships 
was  perfectly  polite  and  agreeable.  On  board  the  English  it 
was  impossible  to  avoid  speaking  of  the  late  war.  They  allowed 
it  to  have  been  a  great  mistake  on  the  part  of  their  nation — 
were  happy  it  was  over — glad  to  see  us  in  this  part  of  the 
world — hoped  all  prejudices  would  be  laid  aside,  and  added 
that,  let  England  and  America  be  united,  they  might  bid  defi¬ 
ance  to  all  the  world. 


358  Early  Foreign  Intercourse 

On  Shaw’s  return  to  the  United  States,  in  1785,  he 
found  his  former  chief,  General  Knox,  serving  as  Minister 
of  War,  and  by  him  was  offered  a  post  as  Secretary  in  the 
War  Office,  which  he  accepted  for  a  few  months.  But 
he  was  induced  to  write  a  report  of  his  voyage  to  the 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  the  Honorable  John  Jay,  and 
through  him  received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  A  few 
months  later  Congress  elected  him  Consul  to  China,  with¬ 
out  salary.  At  the  same  time  he  was,  of  course,  permitted 
to  engage  in  trade.  Thus  he  undertook  his  second  voyage, 
in  1786,  under  more  favorable  auspices  than  the  first.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  during  these  years  immediately 
following  the  Kevolution,  we  did  not  have  a  War  Depart¬ 
ment,  but  a  War  Office — that  instead  of  a  Department  of 
State  and  a  Secretary  of  State  we  had  an  Office  of  Foreign 
Affairs  and  a  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  It  is  even 
more  noteworthy  that  it  was  not  the  President  who  ap¬ 
pointed  Major  Shaw  to  be  Consul,  but  that  the  Congress 
elected  him  to  that  post. 

The  things  wdiich  we  wanted  from  China  in  those  early 
days  were  silk,  tea,  and  nankeens.  Nankeens  are  heavy, 
unbleached  cotton  piece-goods  made  in  the  vicinity  of 
Nanking.  Silk  and  tea  are  still  two  of  the  largest  items 
among  our  imports  from  China,  but  the  cotton  piece-goods 
trade  has  reversed  its  current.  We  now  sell  cotton  cloth 
to  China  instead  of  buying  such  stuffs  in  China.  This 
change  has  been  brought  about  by  the  invention  of  the 
cotton  gin  and  the  power  loom.  China  still  uses  her  hand- 
looms,  however,  and  the  native  cloth  still  commands  a 
limited  market  there,  because  of  its  weight  and  strength; 
but  the  great  factories  that  are  being  built  will  eventually 
destroy  altogether  the  cottage  industries.  To-day  there  are 
3,200,000  spindles  in  Chinese  factories  driven  by  steam, 
and  power  looms  in  their  proportion  are  weaving  cotton 
cloth. 

In  the  days  of  Shaw  the  trade  was  conducted  in  sailing 
vessels.  The  forests  of  Maine  furnished  the  timber  for  the 
wooden  ships  that  were  built  in  New  England.  The 
American  ‘"clipper”  ship  was  famous  the  world  over.  At 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse  359 

the  commencement  of  our  civil  war  in  1860  the  American 
tonnage  in  the  China  trade  had  almost  overtaken  the 
British,  but  in  the  construction  of  iron  vessels  we  could 
not  compete  so  easily.  When  the  Great  World  War  broke 
out,  in  1914,  our  carrying  trade  with  China  was  almost 
nil.  During  the  war  our  ship-building  programme  gave 
us  a  new  mercantile  marine,  but  it  is  doubtful  that  these 
vessels  can  be  operated  profitably  without  a  subsidy,  seeing 
that  American  seamen  command  so  much  higher  wages 
than  those  of  Europe  or  Asia.  In  1914  our  share  of  the 
tonnage  in  the  China  trade  was  less  than  one  per  cent,  and 
in  the  foreign  trade  of  China  it  was  about  seven  per  cent 
of  the  total.  The  situation  improved  considerably  during 
the  war,  but  the  conditions  were  abnormal.  American 
tonnage  increased  to  five  per  cent  and  our  share  of  the 
foreign  trade  of  China  to  thirteen  per  cent  of  the  total. 
Recent  legislation  by  the  Congress  will  doubtless  encourage 
American  trade  with  the  Orient,  by  removing  certain 
handicaps  under  which  American  companies  have  had  to 
operate  in  China  in  competition  with  those  of  Europe. 

American  relations  with  China  cannot  be  discussed  with¬ 
out  mention  of  the  work  of  American  missionaries.  They 
are  found  both  in  Roman  Catholic  and  in  Protestant  mis¬ 
sions,  but  chiefly  in  the  latter.  The  first  Protestant  mis¬ 
sionary  to  China  arrived  there  in  1807.  He  was  a  British 
subject,  but  he  went  out  in  an  American  vessel  because 
of  the  unwillingness  of  the  British  East  India  Company  to 
give  him  transportation.  Subsequently  the  company  recog¬ 
nized  the  value  of  his  work  and  took  him  into  its  employ 
as  translator.  Prom  the  time  of  Robert  Morrison  to  the 
present  British  and  American  missionaries  have  cooperated 
very  zealously  in  their  work.  The  Americans  have  done 
the  larger  part  of  the  educational  and  medical  missionary 
work,  and  they  have  also  been  interested  in  various  other 
philanthropic  enterprises.  A  British  subject  connected 
with  an  American  mission  prepared  the  first  Chinese  font 
of  metal  type  which  made  possible  the  cheap  production 
of  books  and  newspapers.  There  is  no  Chinese  alphabet, 
and  since  each  word  has  its  own  symbol  there  are  some 


360 


Early  Foreign  Intercourse 


thirteen  thousand  characters  in  common  use.  A  case  of 
Chinese  type,  therefore,  occupies  a  small  room.  It  was 
the  arrangement  of  the  case  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make 
possible  the  ready  finding  of  a  character  that  was  the  chief 
difficulty  to  be  overcome.,  Prior  to  this  invention  Chinese 
books  were  printed  from  wooden  blocks,  each  page  having 
its  own  block.  There  has  been,  it  is  true,  a  limited  use 
of  movable  wooden  type  since  the  tenth  century  A.D. 
These  usually  represent  characters  in  constant  demand  for 
perparing  forms  for  public  documents.  The  celebrated 
Peking  Gazette ,  the  oldest  daily  paper  in  the  world,  which 
dated  from  the  eighth  century  A.D.  was  cut  on  tablets  of 
wax  from  which  the  impressions  were  taken. 

The  introduction  of  movable  metal  type  and  the  process 
of  stereotyping  has  greatly  increased  the  production  and 
circulation  of  literature.  In  1887  there  were  but  three  or 
four  daily  newspapers  in  China.  In  1914  there  were  forty 
dailies  in  Peking  alone.  The  work  of  the  missionaries  has 
had  much  to  do  also  with  the  social  and  political  reforms 
that  have  taken  place  in  recent  years. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


OPENING  THE  GATES  OF  CHINA 

There  is  no  greater  evil  than  thinking  lightly  of  the  foe. — Lao  Tzu. 

The  irritating  restrictions  to  which  the  foreign  merchants 
at  Canton  had  to  submit,  and  the  heavy  burden  of  taxation 
borne  by  the  trade  there,  led  the  British  to  attempt  to  open 
some  other  port,  but  all  such  attempts  were  unsuccessful. 
The  co-hong  which  held  the  monopoly  of  trade  at  Canton 
wanted  no  rivals,  and  the  officials  who  squeezed  the  co-hong 
were  quite  as  determined  as  the  co-hong  to  keep  all  gates 
closed  save  that  at  Canton  only. 


macartney’s  embassy 

The  British  Government  then  undertook  to  open  nego¬ 
tiations  with  the  Court  at  Peking.  In  1792  the  Earl  of 
Macartney  was  appointed  ambassador  to  undertake  this 
task,  and  arrived  on  August  5,  1793  at  Taku.  No  expense 
had  been  spared  in  fitting  out  the  embassy.  Six  hundred 
cases  of  choice  presents  were  carried  to  Peking  for  the 
emperor.  The  Chinese  were  equally  lavish  in  their  enter¬ 
tainment  of  the  mission.  They  are  said  to  have  spent 
$850,000  for  this  purpose. 

By  the  Chinese  these  rich  presents  were  regarded  as 
tribute,  and  over  the  boats  which  conveyed  the  embassy 
and  its  treasures  to  Peking  there  floated  flags  bearing  in 
Chinese  the  words  “Tribute  Bearers  from  England.”  Ma¬ 
cartney  knew  that  the  inscriptions  were  there,  but,  as  he 
did  not  read  Chinese,  he  assumed  that  his  ignorance  would 
be  taken  for  granted.  On  the  other  hand  the  Chinese  knew 
that  he  had  interpreters  who  could,  and  probably  would, 

301 


/ 


362 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


read  the  inscriptions.  To  the  Chinese  along  the  river  the 
sight  of  this  huge  fleet  of  boats  bearing  tribute  was  proof 
of  the  greatness  of  China  and  the  power  of  the  Son  of 
Heaven  at  Peking.  From  Peking  the  embassy  had  to  make 
its  way  to  the  imperial  hunting  lodge  at  Jehol,  be¬ 
yond  the  Great  Wall  and  distant  four  days’  journey 
from  the  capital.  Meantime,  there  had  been  much  dis¬ 
cussion  concerning  the  kotow.  The  Chinese  wondered 
whether  the  British  would  perform  this  obeisance  or  not; 
the  British  debated  among  themselves  as  to  the  propriety 
of  making  it.  When  the  Earl  was  told  that  he  must 
kotow  he  offered  to  do  so,  provided  an  officer  of  equal 
rank  with  himself  would  kotow  to  the  portrait  of  the 
King  of  England  which  he  carried  with  him.  The  official 
account  of  the  embassy  states  that  a  compromise  was 
reached,  and  that  Macartney  was  received  upon  his  bending 
one  knee,  as  he  did  on  approaching  his  own  sovereign. 
Rockhill,  however,  in  his  account  of  ‘  ‘  Diplomatic  Audiences 
at  the  Court  of  China,”  presents  evidence  to  support  the 
statement  of  the  Chinese  that  the  British  Ambassador  did 
perform  the  three  kneelings  and  nine  head-knockings. 
Anderson,  who  was  a  member  of  the  mission  but  was  not 
present  at  the  audience,  stated  that  the  ceremonial  followed 
was  kept  a  profound  secret.  The  humiliation  experienced, 
if  such  obeisance  really  was  made,  won  nothing  for  the 
British.  The  Emperor  handed  the  Earl  a  haughty  reply 
to  King  George,  and  rather  plainly  intimated  that  it  was 
time  for  the  embassy  to  be  going.  The  burdens  upon  trade 
were  not  lightened,  but  on  the  contrary  were  increased,  and 
further  friction  was  created  by  disputes  over  jurisdiction. 

The  British  and  the  Europeans  had  several  times  at¬ 
tempted,  but  without  success,  to  assert  extraterritorial 
jurisdiction  over  their  subjects  in  China.  The  Chinese  from 
the  beginning  had  always  claimed  territorial  jurisdiction 
over  alien  residents. 

Fighting  within  the  territorial  waters  of  China  between 
British  and  Americans  during  the  war  of  1812  was  another 
source  of  trouble,  and  was  protested  against  by  the  Chinese 
Government, 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


363 


amherst’s  mission 

All  the  old  annoyances  were  continued,  and  in  1816  the 
British  Government  decided  to  make  a  second  attempt  to 
improve  the  situation.  There  was  a  new  Emperor  at 
Peking,  Chiach  ’ing,  a  smaller  minded  man  than  his  father, 
Ch’ienlung,  and  even  more  arrogant.  Lord  Amherst  was 
the  British  envoy.  He  was  very  rudely  treated  by  the 
Chinese.  All  the  way  from  Taku  to  Tungchow  he  was 
annoyed  by  their  insistent  demand  that  he  should  promise 
to  kotow.  Several  members  of  the  mission  advised  him  to 
comply.  But  the  opportunity  to  do  so  was  not  given.  It 
was  a  custom  of  the  Chinese  Court  to  hold  audiences  at 
daylight,  or  even  a  little  before  daylight.  After  the  Boxer 
troubles  of  1900-1901,  as  a  concession  to  Western  customs 
the  Empress  Dowager,  although  still  receiving  Chinese 
officers  at  daylight,  used  to  grant  audiences  to  the  diplo¬ 
matic  representatives  at  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning. 

In  Amherst’s  time,  however,  the  old  rule  obtained,  and 
when  he  reached  Tungchow,  the  terminus  of  the  river 
journey,  he  was  hurried  to  Peking  during  the  night,  trav¬ 
eling  in  a  palanquin,  and  from  Peking  to  the  Summer 
Palace  ten  miles  further,  making  a  night  journey  of  twenty- 
two  miles  in  this  uncomfortable  fashion.  Immediately 
upon  his  arrival,  at  five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  he  was 
summoned  to  audience.  He  refused,  saying  that  his  uni¬ 
form  and  letters  of  credence  had  not  yet  arrived.  He 
complained,  too,  that  he  was  ill.  The  Emperor  sent  his 
physician,  who  reported  that  the  ambassador  was  feigning 
illness.  The  Emperor  in  anger  ordered  him  back  to  Tung¬ 
chow.  Back  to  Tungchow  he  was  taken,  and  home  to 
England  without  having  accomplished  anything. 


CHINESE  ARROGANCE 


This  attitude  of  the  Chinese  toward  Western  Powers  is 
quite  easy  to  explain  now,  but  then  it  seemed  as  inex- 


364 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


plicable  as  it  was  intolerable.  All  the  nations  around 
China,  save  one,  Russia,  were  small  and  weak  and  had 
received  their  civilization  from  China.  The  Arabs,  Portu¬ 
guese,  British  and  Dutch,  moreover,  had  all  come  to  Canton 
by  sea,  and  were  believed  to  be  inhabitants  of  small  out¬ 
lying  islands.  Great  Britain,  although  without  her  consent, 
had  been  inscribed  among  the  tributaries;  why  should  she 
be  treated  with  more  consideration  than  other  tributaries? 
Russia  had  been  treated  as  an  equal,  it  is  true,  but  Russia 
was  manifestly  a  great  power,  stretching  along  the  whole 
northern  frontier  of  China. 

As  for  the  kotow,  from  the  days  of  Themistocles  to  the 
present  the  European  has  refused  to  perform  the  humili¬ 
ating  obeisance  demanded  by  Asiatic  courts.  Napoleon, 
however,  held  that  the  Chinese  were  quite  right  in  de¬ 
manding  that  aliens  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the 
court,  that  otherwise  a  foreigner  is  treated  with  more 
respect  than  a  prince  of  the  blood.  He  declared,  too,  that 
the  claim  of  an  ambassador  to  be  the  personal  representa¬ 
tive  of  his  sovereign  was  an  unreasonable  one,  since  any 
messenger  might  carry  a  letter  from  one  monarch  to  an¬ 
other.  But  Napoleon’s  views  were  not  generally  shared 
by  European  rulers.  As  for  the  Americans,  their  views 
were  well  expressed  by  Minister  Ward,  who,  when  told 
he  must  kotow  refused  saying:  “No,  I  kneel  only  to  God 
and  woman.” 

The  Chinese  had  finally  to  abandon  both  the  claim  to 
superiority  and  the  demand  for  the  kotow.  When  the 
Emperor  Tungchih  attained  his  majority,  in  1873,  and  the 
diplomatic  corps  was  received  in  audience,  it  was  agreed 
after  much  discussion  that  the  Ministers  should  bow  three 
times  before  His  Majesty.  This  they  did,  although  the 
audience  was  not  a  success,  since  the  diplomats  were  re¬ 
ceived  in  the  hall  where  tributaries  had  audience.  It  was 
not  until  after  the  settlement  of  the  Boxer  troubles,  in 
1901,  that  the  question  of  ceremony  at  imperial  audiences 
was  satisfactorily  adjusted.  But  in  the  days  of  Macartney 
that  was  more  than  a  hundred  years  in  the  future. 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


365 


THE  BREAKING  POINT 

The  British  East  India  Company’s  charter  expired  in 
1834,  and  its  monopoly  of  British  trade  at  Canton  came 
to  an  end.  The  company  had  given  notice  to  the  Chinese 
authorities  that  its  operations  were  about  to  cease.  The 
Chinese  had  replied  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  appoint 
some  one  as  Vai-pan  of  the  British  merchants.  By  a  t’ai- 
pan  the  Chinese  meant  a  commercial  man,  representative 
of  the  British  merchants,  such  as  Chinese  merchants  had 
in  Java  or  the  Philippines,  such  as  in  the  old  days  the 
Arabs  had  at  Canton — a  merchant  and  not  a  government 
official.  They  wanted  one  merchant  selected  to  whom  the 
Chinese  could  communicate  the  orders  of  the  Government 
for  all.  But  the  British  assumed  that  what  was  wanted 
and  needed  was  an  official  representative  of  the  British 
Government,  of  the  sort  which  we  call  consular,  one  who 
could  not  only  look  after  trade  but  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  British  subjects.  Accordingly  Lord  Napier  and  two 
others  were  appointed  superintendents  of  British  trade  in 
China,  and  instructed,  after  due  consideration  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  to  set  up  a  court  to  have  jurisdiction  over  British 
subjects.  Lord  Napier  was  head  of  the  Commission.  All 
this  was  done  without  consulting  the  Chinese  and  without 
notifying  them. 

Lord  Napier  was  instructed  to  avoid  friction,  but  in  the 
same  document  was  given  commands  which  would  of  neces¬ 
sity  be  found  to  create  friction.  He  was  required  by  his 
instructions  to  proceed  directly  to  Canton,  and  to  notify 
the  Viceroy  by  letter  of  his  arrival;  but  the  Chinese  regu¬ 
lations  in  force  did  not  allow  any  foreigner  to  visit  Canton 
without  a  permit,  nor  any  communications  to  be  made  to 
officials  except  through  the  hong  merchants,  and  all  such 
communications  had  to  be  couched  in  the  form  of  petitions. 
Lord  Napier,  of  course,  would  not  send  his  letter  through 
merchants.  He  held  himself  to  be  of  rank  equal  to  that 
of  a  Viceroy,  and  he  would  not  petition.  He  went  to 
Canton  without  a  permit;  his  letter  was  not  received,  and 


366 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


the  merchants  were  punished  for  not  preventing  his  coming. 
He  was  ordered  back  to  Macao  and  refused  to  go.  British 
trade  then  was  stopped.  British  merchants  were  shut  up 
in  their  hongs  and  all  Chinese  were  forbidden  to  serve 
them  or  to  supply  them  with  food.  British  war-ships  came 
for  their  protection.  The  people  were  alarmed,  and  finally, 
to  relieve  the  merchants,  Napier  went  back  to  Macao,  and 
died  almost  immediately  after  his  arrival  there. 

His  associates  and  successors  were  better  acquainted  with 
the  situation.  They  had  formerly  been  connected  with  the 
East  India  Company  and  had  lived  some  years  in  China. 
They  were  more  circumspect  therefore.  But  their  passive 
attitude  only  postponed  the  inevitable  conflict,  for  it 
strengthened,  rather  than  weakened,  the  Chinese  self- 
confidence,  and  made  the  position  of  the  foreign  merchant 
the  more  unendurable.  The  Chinese  were  filled  with  self- 
conceit  because  of  their  experience  with  weaker  neighbors. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  strength  of  Europe,  and  their 
contempt  for  the  foe  was  their  undoing. 

The  claims  of  the  East  and  the  West  were  wholly  irrecon¬ 
cilable.  War  seemed  the  only  solution  of  the  problem,  and 
war  came.  It  is  known  generally  as  the  “ Opium  War,” 
and  opium  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  rupture  between 
Great  Britain  and  China.  The  opium  question,  however, 
as  already  said,  was  but  one  of  the  many  causes  leading 
to  war. 

Opium  smuggling  had  increased  rapidly.  Foreigners  of 
many  nationalities  were  engaged  in  it;  British,  American, 
Portuguese  and  others.  The  Emperor  was  determined  to 
put  a  stop  to  opium  smoking  and  end  the  illicit  traffic 
in  the  drug.  Commissioner  Lin,  a  man  of  iron  will,  arrived 
in  Canton  in  March,  1839,  with  full  power  to  investigate 
and  to  act.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  make  his  investi¬ 
gation.  In  one  week  after  his  arrival  he  issued  stringent 
orders  to  all  foreign  residents  of  Canton  to  deliver  up  all 
the  opium  in  their  possession  within  three  days.  Delay 
led  to  the  shutting  of  all  foreign  traders  in  their  hongs, 
cut  off  from  all  food  and  service  and  surrounded  by  a  large 
force  of  troops.  The  demand  of  the  British  Superintend- 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


367 


ent  for  passports  for  the  British  was  vain.  He  was  com¬ 
pelled  to  deliver  the  opium,  over  twenty  thousand  chests, 
all  of  which  was  destroyed.  The  British  immediately  began 
preparations  for  war.  It  took  time  to  send  despatches  to 
London;  there  was  no  telegraph  in  those  days.  A  fleet 
was  sent  out  and  blockaded  Canton  in  June,  1840.  The 
war  lasted  two  years.  The  Chinese  were  defeated  every¬ 
where,  but  the  Chinese  troops  showed  no  lack  of  courage. 
Their  equipment  and  their  methods  were  obsolete.  The 
British  were  impressed  by  the  desperation  of  the  Manchu 
garrisons  at  Chapu  and  Chinkiang.  When  they  realized 
their  defeat  they  killed  their  wives  and  children  and  then 
committed  suicide.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at 
Nanking  on  August  29,  1842.  By  that  treaty  the  obnoxious 
monopoly  of  the  co-hong  at  Canton  was  abolished.  That 
city  and  four  others  were  opened  to  foreign  residence  and 
trade.  Consuls  were  allowed  to  reside  at  these  ports.  A 
reasonable  tariff  was  promised.  Twenty-one  million  dollars 
were  to  be  paid  as  indemnity,  of  which  six  millions  were 
for  the  opium  that  had  been  destroyed,  and  Hongkong 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain. 

But  the  opium  question  remained  unsettled.  The  Chinese 
would  not  agree  to  legalize  the  traffic.  During  the  negoti¬ 
ations  at  Nanking  the  British  introduced  the  topic,  and 
suggested  that  it  would  be  well  to  allow  the  import  of 
the  drug  under  a  heavy  duty,  and  thus  obtain  a  revenue 
from  it.  The  Chinese  asked  the  British  why  they  did  not 
forbid  the  production  of  opium  in  India.  Sir  Henry  Pot- 
tinger  replied  that  it  would  not  be  consistent  with  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  Great  Britain,  and  that,  even  if  they  did  exer¬ 
cise  so  arbitrary  a  control  over  the  tillers  of  the  soil  in 
India,  it  would  not  prevent  the  coming  of  the  drug  to 
China;  that,  if  India  did  not  produce  it,  other  countries 
would — a  rather  lame  excuse  for  an  evil  trade.  He  re¬ 
minded  them  that,  if  they  would  only  be  virtuous,  they 
would  neither  use  the  drug  nor  permit  it  to  be  smuggled. 

The  next  year  a  treaty  of  commerce  was  signed  which 
provided  the  promised  tariff  on  imports  and  exports,  and 
stipulated  for  a  measure  of  extraterritoriality.  This  last, 


368 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


however,  was  more  definitely  provided  for  in  the  American 
treaty  of  1844. 

The  tariff  was  made  specific,  but  was  based  upon  a  gen¬ 
eral  charge  of  five  per  cent  ad  valorem.  A  few  articles  paid 
a  somewhat  higher  duty,  and  bread-stuffs  and  bullion  were 
put  upon  the  free  list.  This  fastening  of  a  treaty  tariff 
upon  China  was  an  encroachment  upon  her  sovereignty. 
The  low  rate  adopted,  too,  was  an  injustice  that  has  been 
perpetuated  to  our  own  day,  one  that  is  making  very  dif¬ 
ficult  the  financial  readjustment  needed.  The  Boxer  folly 
and  the  political  troubles  that  have  afflicted  the  country 
since  1911  have  plunged  the  nation  into  debt ;  but  if  China 
enjoyed  tariff  autonomy  these  debts  might  easily  be  met. 
This  was  one  of  the  subjects  dealt  with  by  the  Washington 
Conference. 

THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  TREATY  WITH  CHINA 

The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  China  was  watched 
with  great  interest  by  the  American  Government,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  Congress  assembled  after  news  of  the  treaty 
of  Nanking  was  received,  that  is  to  say  in  December,  1842, 
the  President  recommended  that  an  appropriation  be  made 
for  a  commission  to  negotiate  a  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  China.  It  was  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of 
State,  who  first  called  attention  to  the  desirability  of  such 
action.  Caleb  Cushing  was  the  man  selected  as  Commis¬ 
sioner.  He  was  well  received  by  the  Chinese,  and  within 
six  months  after  his  arrival  in  China  had  signed  a  treaty 
which  in  some  respects  was  an  improvement  upon  that  of 
the  British.  But  it  was  the  British  that  had  opened  the 
way  for  American  action.  Foster,  in  his  “American  Di¬ 
plomacy  in  the  Orient,”  calls  attention  to  the  curious  style 
of  the  letter  addressed  by  President  Tyler  to  the  Emperor 
of  China.1  Webster  had  resigned  the  Secretaryship  of 
State,  and  this  letter  was  evidently  drafted  by  some  sub¬ 
ordinate  in  the  Department  who  thought  that  the  Chinese 

i  Op.  cit.,  p.  81. 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China  369 

Emperor  was  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
chieftain  of  a  tribe  of  American  Indians.  To  the  Ameri¬ 
cans  the  Chinese  were  wild  barbarians.  This  was  shown, 
not  only  by  the  letter  mentioned,  bnt  in  the  preparation 
of  the  copy  of  the  treaty  which  was  sent  to  Peking  after 
the  exchange  of  ratifications.  Many  years  later,  in  1901, 
during  the  settlement  of  the  Boxer  troubles,  the  American 
Minister  appointed  me  to  be  a  member  of  an  international 
committee  to  examine  the  archives  at  the  Chinese  Foreign 
Office  and  arrange  for  their  protection.  The  Chinese  Gov¬ 
ernment  had  fled  when  the  capital  was  captured,  and  there 
had  been  much  looting  in  the  city.  It  was  important  that 
the  records  of  the  Foreign  Office  should  be  preserved. 

On  entering  the  Hall  of  Archives  we  found  the  whole 
lot  of  documents  piled  in  a  heap  on  the  floor,  as  though 
it  had  been  intended  to  set  them  afire.  In  the  midst  of 
the  pile  was  the  Chinese  Government’s  copy  of  our  first 
treaty.  It  was  bound  in  purple  plush,  like  an  old-fashioned 
family  album,  and  the  seal  attached  was  of  solid  silver, 
a  replica  of  the  great  seal  of  the  United  States,  obverse 
and  reverse.  It  was  fastened  to  the  document  by  a  gold 
cord.  It  was  undoubtedly  put  up  in  this  garish  fashion 
in  the  belief  that  it  would  appeal  to  the  supposed  barbarous 
tastes  of  the  Chinese. 

But  if  Americans  looked  upon  the  Chinese  as  barbarians 
the  latter  returned  the  compliment  with  interest.  When 
the  yamen  of  the  Canton  Viceroy  was  seized  by  the  British, 
during  their  second  war  with  China,  they  found  copies 
of  the  official  reports  made  by  the  Chinese  commissioner 
who  negotiated  with  Cushing.  In  one  of  these  reports  he 
refers  to  Cushing  in  very  disparaging  terms  as  the  “Bar¬ 
barian  envoy,”  and  told  how  his  “stupid  ignorance”  had 
to  be  dispelled.2  The  two  peoples  have  come  to  understand 
one  another  much  better  since  then,  and  to  appreciate  the 
good  features  of  each  other’s  civilization. 

The  American  treaty  contained  three  important  pro¬ 
visions  not  found  in  the  British  treaty.  It  was  expressly 
provided  that  the  Americans  who  should  engage  in  the 

2  Ibid.,  p.  90. 


370 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 

opium  traffic  should  receive  no  protection  from  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Government.  The  treaty  also  contained  a  stipulation 
permitting  revision  at  the  end  of  twelve  years,  a  very 
important  one  as  it  later  appeared,  when  the  Chinese  re¬ 
sisted  all  attempts  at  revision.  The  third  was  more 
important  than  either  of  the  other  two.  It  was  the  stip¬ 
ulation  relating  to  the  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  to  be 
exercised  by  the  United  States  over  its  citizens  in  China. 
This  question  will  be  treated  more  fully  elsewhere.  In  the 
previous  chapter  I  have  pointed  out  the  mistake  made  by 
some  writers,  who  assume  that  the  surrender  by  the  Chinese 
of  territorial  jurisdiction  was  readily  made,  and  that  the 
Arabs  enjoyed  a  somewhat  similar  privilege  in  the  ninth 
century  of  the  Christian  era. 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  GREAT  BRITAIN 

The  treaties  of  1842,  ’43  and  ’44  did  not  accomplish  all 
that  the  Powers  had  expected.  The  Chinese  had  been  de¬ 
feated,  but  they  were  just  as  unwilling  as  ever  to  have 
any  dealings  with  Western  peoples.  The  ancient  Chinese 
had  tried  to  keep  out  the  Mongols  by  building  a  brick 
wall  across  north  China;  their  descendants  tried  to  keep 
the  Europeans  at  a  distance  by  passive  resistance,  by  delays, 
by  all  sorts  of  obstructive  tactics,  and  more  actively  by 
evading  treaty  provisions. 

The  treaty  powers  sent  out  their  commissioners  to  care 
for  the  interests  of  their  citizens,  but  the  Chinese  provided 
no  channel  of  communication  with  them.  There  was  a 
Commissioner  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Canton,  it  is  true,  but, 
as  was  later  discovered,  his  duty  was  to  prevent  any  inter¬ 
course,  if  possible,  and  to  hinder  and  obstruct  communi¬ 
cation.  It  was  the  Manchu  officials,  rather  than  the  Chinese 
merchants,  who  were  opposed  to  intercourse.  The  latter 
have  always  been  eager  to  trade,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  have 
been  very  honorable  in  their  dealings. 

The  American  treaty,  as  already  said,  provided  for 
revision  at  the  end  of  twelve  years,  and  Great  Britain 


HALL  OF  AUDIENCE  AT  THE  SUMMER  PALACE. 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China  371 

enjoyed  favored  nation  treatment.  The  American  treaty 
was  due  for  revision  in  1856,  but  all  attempts  even  to  dis¬ 
cuss  the  question  were  evaded  by  the  Chinese.  When 
appeal  was  made  to  Peking  the  American  commissioners 
were  referred  to  the  Chinese  mandarin  charged  with  the 
conduct  of  foreign  affairs  who  resided  at  Canton.  When 
this  officer  at  Canton  was  asked  for  an  interview  he  in¬ 
variably  replied  that  he  would  appoint  an  auspicious  day 
at  some  time  in  the  future,  when  he  was  not  busy.  But 
that  auspicious  day  never  arrived. 

Disrespect  shown  to  the  British  flag  led  to  a  second 
appeal  to  arms  in  the  autumn  of  1856.  Canton  was  captured 
on  October  29th.  Search  of  the  Viceroy’s  yamen  discov¬ 
ered  his  correspondence  with  Peking,  from  which  it  was 
learned  that  it  was  the  Court  at  Peking  that  was  really 
responsible  for  the  hostile  attitude  toward  Western  powers. 
It  became  necessary,  then,  to  bring  home  to  the  Peking 
Court  a  realization  of  their  own  weakness,  and  the  folly 
of  deluding  themselves  with  the  fancy  that  procrastination 
could  ever  save  them  from  a  final  accounting.  It  was  not 
until  the  forts  at  Taku  had  been  taken  and  Tientsin  was 
captured  that  the  Manchus  at  Peking  were  sufficiently 
alarmed  to  enter  into  negotiations.  The  French  had  a 
grievance  in  the  torture  and  murder  of  a  French  missionary 
in  Kuangsi  Province,  by  a  local  magistrate  who  had  es¬ 
caped  all  punishment  for  his  crime.  The  French,  therefore, 
joined  the  British  in  the  attack  upon  the  Taku  Forts,  and 
the  .Anglo-French  forces  marched  into  Tientsin  on  May  30, 
1858.  The  Chinese  at  once  agreed  to  the  revision  of  the 
British  and  French  treaties.  The  Americans  took  advantage 
of  the  situation  to  negotiate  a  revision  of  theirs,  and  the 
Russians  also  entered  into  a  new  treaty. 


OPIUM  IN  THE  TREATIES  OF  1858 

William  B.  Reed  was  the  American  envoy  who  negotiated 
our  treaty  of  1858.  He  had  instructions  to  support  the 
Chinese  in  their  attitude  towards  the  opium  traffic,  and  to 


372 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


renew  the  provisions  of  our  treaty  of  1844  in  regard  to 
that  trade.  In  violation  of  these  instructions  he  omitted 
the  provision  of  our  first  treaty  in  regard  to  opium,  and 
urged  Lord  Elgin,  of  the  British  embassy  to  try  to  have 
the  trade  legalized.  Morse  well  says  that  Reed  must  be 
classed  with  those  who  have  betrayed  a  great  cause.3 

Arrangements  had  been  made  to  exchange  ratifications 
the  following  year  (1859),  and  for  this  purpose  Mr.  J.  E. 
Ward  was  sent  out  by  the  American  Government.  The 
Russians  had  followed  the  old  route  of  communication  with 
Peking  via  Kiakhta,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  exchanging 
the  ratification  in  the  Chinese  capital.  The  British  treaty 
stipulated  that  ratifications  should  be  exchanged  at  Peking. 
The  American  and  French  treaties  did  not  specify  the 
place,  but  each  had  a  favored  nation  clause  under  which 
claim  could  be  made  for  the  same  privilege.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  the  Chinese  had  rebuilt  and  strengthened  the  forts 
at  Taku.  Upon  the  arrival  there  of  the  American,  British 
and  French  envoys,  they  were  requested  to  land  a  few 
miles  to  the  north,  at  Peitang,  from  which  point  they 
would  be  conveyed  to  Peking.  The  British  and  French 
declined  to  go  to  Peitang,  and  insisted  on  going  up  the 
Haiho  to  Tientsin.  The  American  envoy  went  to  Peitang, 
as  requested,  and  was  carried  to  Peking.  There  he  was 
told  that  he  could  have  no  audience  of  the  Emperor  unless 
he  would  kotow,  and  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that  he 
made  the  reply  already  quoted :  “I  kneel  only  to  God 
and  woman.”  He  was  taken  back  to  Peitang  and  ex¬ 
changed  ratifications  there. 

While  he  was  upon  his  way  to  Peking  the  British  and 
French  attacked  the  forts  at  Taku  and  were  beaten  off  with 
considerable  loss.  During  the  engagement  Commander 
Tatnall  of  the  American  frigate,  Powhatan ,  ordered  a  small 
steamer  that  accompanied  him  to  tow  several  British 
launches  into  action.  “Blood  is  thicker  than  water,”  he 
exclaimed.  His  action,  however,  was  an  embarrassment  to 
the  American  Minister:  The  British  and  French  had  to 

3  International  Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  I:  p.  554. 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


373 


draw  off  and  refit.  They  came  back  the  next  year  (1860) 
in  stronger  force,  captured  the  forts,  took  Tientsin  and 
marched  to  Peking.  In  vain  the  Peking  Government  strove 
to  stop  their  advance,  offering  repeatedly  to  negotiate  with 
them  at  other  points  on  the  way.  The  treachery  of  the 
Chinese  in  arresting  British  and  French  representatives 
who  were  within  the  Chinese  lines  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  the  torture  and  murder  of  several  of  these,  hardened 
the  resolution  of  the  envoys.  They  seized  the  celebrated 
summer  palace  of  the  Emperor  at  Yuan  Ming  Yuan,  looted 
and  burned  it,  looted  and  destroyed  a  number  of  summer 
palaces  belonging  to  imperial  princes,  and  finally  negoti¬ 
ated  peace  in  the  capital  itself. 

The  Emperor,  Hsienfeng,  a  dissipated  man,  the  Empress 
and  the  Princess  Yi,  who  was  the  secondary  consort  and 
the  mother  of  the  Emperor’s  only  son,  fled  together  to 
the  hunting  lodge  at  Jehol.  There  the  Emperor  died  in 
the  summer  of  1861,  being  but  thirty  years  of  age. 

Before  leaving  the  capital  Hsienfeng  had  appointed  his 
brother,  Prince  Kung,  plenipotentiary  to  make  peace  with 
the  British  and  French.  The  envoys  had  been  demanding 
day  by  day  the  return  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  violation 
of  a  flag  of  truce.  Prince  Kung  had  pleaded  that  peace 
should  first  be  made,  but  he  had  had  the  survivors  among 
the  prisoners  removed  from  the  vile  prison  of  the  Board 
of  Punishments  to  a  pleasant  little  temple  in  the  northern 
part  of  Peking,  where  they  were  at  least  more  comfortable 
than  they  had  been.  Among  them  was  Harry  Parkes,  the 
interpreter  of  the  British  mission,  afterwards  known  as 
Sir  Harry  Parkes,  one  of  the  most  vigorous  ministers  the 
British  ever  had  at  Peking.  His  escape  from  death  was 
a  very  narrow  one.  After  the  flight  of  the  Court,  a  man¬ 
date  bearing  the  imperial  seal  was  sent  back  to  Prince 
Kung  directing  him  to  put  the  prisoners  to  death.  But  a 
private  message  from  a  courtier  arrived  at  the  same  time, 
telling  him  the  contents  of  the  mandate  and  that  the  Prin¬ 
cess  Yi  had  written  it.  Prince  Kung  knew  her  bitter  ani¬ 
mosity  to  the  Europeans,  and  he  also  knew  that  the  execu¬ 
tion  of  the  prisoners  would  bring  severe  punishment  upon 


t 


374 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 

China.  Accordingly  he  neglected  to  read  the  mandate  until 
he  had  set  the  prisoners  free,  when  he  reported  that  the 
order  had  come  too  late. 

Lord  Elgin,  the  British  envoy,  entered  Peking  in  state 
on  October  24,  1860.  The  ratifications  of  the  treaty  of 
1858  were  exchanged  in  the  yamen  of  the  Board  of  Rites. 
At  the  same  time  a  convention  was  signed  by  which  the 
indemnity  demanded  of  China  in  the  treaty  of  1858  was 
increased  from  Tls.  4,000,000  to  Tls.  8,000,000.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  ten  new  ports  whose  opening  was  provided  for 
in  the  treaty,  the  city  of  Tientsin  was  included,  and  the 
Peninsula  of  Kowloon,  opposite  Hongkong,  was  ceded  to 
Great  Britain.  The  French  entered  Peking  on  the  25th 
of  October,  and  after  exchange  of  ratifications  also  secured 
a  convention  that  increased  their  indemnity  from  Tls. 
2,000,000  to  Tls.  8,000,000. 

The  treaties  of  1858,  with  the  amendments  made  by  the 
conventions  of  1860,  secured  equal  privileges  for  the  four 
powers  that  had  been  negotiating ;  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Russia,  for  each  had  the  favored  na¬ 
tion  clause  in  its  treaty.  These  treaties,  it  may  be  said, 
really  opened  the  gates  of  China.  They  forced  upon  her  a 
recognition  of  western  powers  as  being  upon  an  equality 
with  herself,  and  not  her  vassals.  They  provided  for  the 
residence  of  diplomatic  representatives  at  Peking,  and  the 
establishment  there  of  a  Foreign  Office  with  which  these 
representatives  might  communicate.4 

Among  other  provisions  of  note,  one  placed  opium 
upon  the  tariff  list,  and  so  legalized  that  infamous  trade, 
while  another  guaranteed  freedom  of  religion  and  the 
privilege  of  religious  propaganda  by  Christian  missionaries, 
throughout  the  country. 

The  American  treaty  contained  one  very  unusual  clause. 
Article  I  provides  that  “If  any  other  nation  should  act 
unjustly  or  oppressively,  the  United  States  will  exert  their 
good  offices  on  being  informed  of  the  case,  to  bring  about 

4  Theretofore  all  intercourse  with  foreign  states  had  been  con¬ 
ducted  through  the  Li  Fan  Yuan,  or  Bureau  of  Dependencies,  which 
did  not  even  have  the  rank  of  a  Ministry. 


Opening  the  Gates  of  China 


37  5 


an  amicable  arrangement  of  the  question,  thus  showing 
their  friendly  feelings.” 

The  Chinese  have  several  times  availed  themselves  of 
the  good  offices,  both  of  our  Government  and  of  American 
statesmen  not  connected  with  the  executive  branch  of  the 
government.  This  provision  of  the  treaty  of  1858  was 
recalled  with  considerable  interest  when  appeal  was  made 
to  the  American  Commissioners  at  Paris  in  1919  for  the 
exercise  of  their  good  offices  to  prevent  the  transfer  to 
Japan  of  the  former  German  rights  in  the  Province  of 
Shantung. 

The  Russians,  in  addition  to  the  treaty  of  Tientsin  in 
1858,  had  induced  the  Chinese  a  month  earlier  (May  29, 
1858)  to  sign  the  treaty  of  Aigun,  which  made  the  left 
bank  of  the  Amur  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Ussuri  the 
boundary  between  the  two  countries,  and  left  the  maritime 
province  east  of  the  Ussuri  in  joint  possession  of  the  two 
countries  until  its  ownership  could  be  definitely  settled. 
Both  nations  were  to  enjoy  the  right  to  navigate  the  Amur, 
Sungari  and  Ussuri  Rivers.  The  Russians  used  their  good 
offices  in  behalf  of  China  during  the  advance  of  the  Anglo- 
French  forces  upon  Peking.  Thus  they  were  able  finally 
to  persuade  the  Chinese  to  cede  the  maritime  Province  of 
Siberia  to  Russia.  This  was  done  in  a  treaty  signed 
November  14,  1860.  It  had  been  but  a  short  time  since 
Russia  herself  had  been  at  war  with  Great  Britain  and 
France  in  the  Crimea,  so  that  it  was  not  surprising  that 
Russia  and  China  should  have  been  drawn  together. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  APOTHEOSIS  OF  AN  AMERICAN 

The  plain  man  is  the  basic  clod 
From  which  we  grow  the  demigod; 

And  in  the  average  man  is  curled 
The  hero  stuff  that  rules  the  world. 

Foss. 

The  Chinese  in  their  conflict  with  the  British  and  French 
were  handicapped  by  a  great  rebellion,  which  began  in 
southwestern  China  in  1850,  and  spread  during  the  follow¬ 
ing  decade  over  most  of  the  provinces  in  the  southern  half 
of  the  empire.  Its  ravages,  indeed,  extended  along  the 
Grand  Canal  as  far  north  as  the  suburbs  of  Tientsin. 

The  man  who  was  in  a  great  degree  instrumental  in  its 
suppression  was  an  American,  Frederick  Townsend  Ward, 
of  Salem,  Massachusetts. 


THE  SHRINE  OF  GENERAL  WARD 

At  the  China  New  Year  in  1900  I  went  for  a  house-boat 
trip  into  the  country  southwest  of  Shanghai,  and  arrived 
one  day  at  the  gate  of  Sungkiang.  This  was  the  head¬ 
quarters  of  General  Ward  during  his  military  operations, 
and  there  he  was  buried.  I  enquired  for  his  grave  and 
was  guided  to  it.  In  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  city 
there  is  an  open  space  of  considerable  extent.  This  was 
his  drill  ground.  Beside  it  there  is  a  little  temple,  and 
within  the  temple  court-yard  is  his  grave.  The  temple  is 
of  brick  with  a  tile  roof.  The  principal  hall  is  built  just 
in  front  of  the  tomb.  Within  the  hall  is  an  altar,  the 
inscription  over  which  tells  the  visitor  that  it  is  dedicated 
to  the  spirit  of  General  Ward.  The  temple  was  in  charge 
of  a  care-taker  who  lived  there.  It  was  kept  in  good  con- 

376 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 


377 


dition,  and  on  the  altar  were  the  remains  of  the  incense 
and  candles  which,  with  other  offerings,  had  been  sacrificed 
to  the  dead  warrior  at  the  New  Year. 

A  Yankee  sailor  boy,  a  soldier  in  the  Chinese  imperial 
army,  a  saint  in  the  Confucian  calendar — such  in  epitome 
is  the  history  of  Frederick  Townsend  Ward.  The  love  of 
adventure  was  in  his  blood,  and  the  rattle  of  musketry  to 
his  ears  was  as  the  peal  of  an  organ  to  a  priest.  Yet  he 
was  not  fond  of  killing.  He  went  unarmed  into  battle, 
carrying  simply  a  slender  walking  stick  with  which  to 
direct  his  troops.  In  this  habit  he  was  imitated  by  his 
British  successor,  the  celebrated  Major  Charles  George 
Gordon  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  who  is  sometimes  given 
improperly  all  the  credit  for  the  suppression  of  the  Taip- 
ing  Rebellion. 

Ward  was  born  in  Salem  in  1831.  He  made  an  effort  to 
get  into  West  Point,  but  failed.  At  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  went  to  sea.  He  was  with  Garibaldi  in  South  America. 
At  twenty  he  sailed  from  San  Francisco  for  China.  On 
his  arrival  in  Shanghai  in  1851,  the  fanatical  leader  of 
the  Taiping  Rebellion  and  his  iconoclastic  followers  had 
just  taken  possession  of  the  city  of  Yunganchou,  in  the 
province  of  Kuangsi,  but  were  not  yet  thought  of  as  in 
any  way  dangerous  or  worthy  of  serious  attention.  Ward 
found  employment  on  a  coasting  steamer  running  out  of 
Shanghai.  In  1859  he  had  become  an  officer  on  the  Chinese 
merchant  steamer,  Confucius.  By  this  time  the  Taiping 
leader,  Hung  Hsiu-ch’uan,  had  created  mighty  armies,  had 
declared  himself  emperor,  had  established  his  capital  in 
the  ancient  city  of  Nanking,  and  had  shaken  the  Manchu 
empire  to  its  foundations. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  REBELLION 

Hung  Hsiu-ch’uan  was  a  curious  character.  Probably 
he  was  an  epileptic.  There  is  much  in  his  career  to  remind 
one  of  Mohammed.  He  was  born  in  1813,  about  thirty 
miles  north  of  Canton.  His  family,  however,  was  not 


378 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 


Cantonese,  but  had  come  from  the  north.  His  father  was 
a  farmer.  Hsiu-ch  ’uan  was  a  student ;  he  had  entered  the 
examinations  several  times  but  had  failed  to  pass.  When 
he  was  twenty  years  of  age  he  had  come  into  touch  with 
Christian  missionaries  at  Canton,  but  at  that  time  had  not 
been  favorably  impressed  by  them.  Pour  years  later,  in 
1837,  he  had  been  taken  ill  after  another  failure  in  the 
examinations,  and  had  seen  strange  visions.  Another  de¬ 
cade  passed  ;  he  went  once  more  to  Canton  for  the  exami¬ 
nations  and  failed  again.  Then  he  went  to  call  upon  an 
American  missionary,  the  Rev.  Issachar  Roberts.  Prom 
him  he  received  instruction  in  Christianity,  but  before  he 
was  ready  for  baptism  he  left  the  mission  and  went  home. 
There  he  organized  a  society  called  the  Bhang  Ti  Hui,  or 
Society  of  the  Supreme  God.  He  soon  gathered  a  band 
of  some  thousands,  devoted  to  the  worship  of  one  God, 
and  intolerant  of  all  forms  of  idolatry.  Great  zeal  was 
shown  in  destroying  idols  and  demolishing  temples.  This, 
of  course,  brought  conflict  with  the  authorities,  for  one 
cannot  destroy  the  property  of  others  without  violating 
the  law. 

Rebellions  are  common  enough  in  China.  The  history 
of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  is  a  history  of  a  continuous  suc¬ 
cession  of  rebellions.  During  the  twenty-six  years  of  my 
own  residence  in  China  I  do  not  remember  one  in  which 
there  was  not,  somewhere  in  that  vast  country,  an  uprising 
against  the  constituted  authorities.  The  attacks  of  the 
Shang  Ti  Hui,  therefore,  upon  the  officials  who  sought  to 
punish  them  for  destruction  of  property,  did  not  at  first 
attract  much  attention.  The  society  was  but  one  more  of 
those  rebellious  organizations  which  had  kept  Kuangsi  in 
turmoil  for  several  decades. 

In  1850  Hung  Hsiu-eh  ’uan  was  living  in  Lienchu,  in  the 
county  town  known  as  Kueihsien,  in  Kuangsi.  He  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  been  sincere  in  his  acceptance  of  Christian 
doctrine,  and  his  followers  were  well  disciplined  and  atten¬ 
tive  to  religious  affairs.  Their  strong  faith  added,  of 
course,  to  their  value  as  soldiers,  and  their  attacks  in  large 
numbers  upon  temples  made  military  measures  a  necessity 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American  379 

upon  the  part  of  the  authorities.  Like  Cromwell’s  troops 
they  went  out  in  unwavering  confidence  that  the  Lord 
of  Hosts  was  with  them,  and  their  courage  was  irresistible. 
In  1851  they  moved  to  Yunganchou,  and  there  they  were 
besieged  by  imperial  troops  in  February,  1852.  In  April 
Hung  cut  his  way  out,  and  with  a  force  of  about  ten  thou¬ 
sand  men  he  started  on  his  journey  northward. 


TAIPING  SUCCESS 

He  had  no  artillery,  therefore  he  failed  to  take  the  pro¬ 
vincial  capital,  Kueilin,  which  closed  its  gates  against  him. 
He  marched  around  it  and  continued  moving  north,  living 
upon  the  country  as  he  went.  In  June  he  was  more  suc¬ 
cessful  in  Hunan  Province,  where  several  cities  fell  into 
his  hands.  By  September  he  was  at  Ch  ’angsha,  the  capital 
of  Hunan,  but  from  it  he  was  turned  away  by  walls  that 
he  could  not  breach.  There,  however,  he  captured  a  lot 
of  boats,  with  which  his  army  moved  down  the  Siang  River. 
At  its  mouth  the  city  of  Yochow  was  taken.  There  was 
a  government  arsenal  there  which  supplied  them  with 
guns  and  abundant  ammunition,  with  which  they  moved 
down  the  Yangtze  River.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
Hung  had  captured  Hanyang,  and  in  January,  1853,  the 
city  of  Wuchang,  the  viceregal  capital  of  Hupei  and 
Hunan.  There  they  fitted  out  a  powerful  fleet.  City  after 
city  along  the  Yangtze  fell  before  them.  On  March  19, 
1853,  they  stormed  and  captured  Nanking,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  empire.  Twenty  thousand  Manchus,  resident 
there,  were  massacred;  men,  women  and  children.  There 
the  “Heavenly  King,”  as  the  leader  called  himself,  made 
his  capital.  There  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life — 
eleven  years — and  from  his  palace  there  ruled  a  great  por¬ 
tion  of  the  empire. 

It  was  while  at  Ch ’angsha,  in  Hunan,  that  he  first  as¬ 
sumed  the  imperial  title.  He  called  his  state  the  “ Taiping 
T’ien  Kuo,”  or  “Heavenly  Kingdom  of  Great  Peace,”  and 
himself  the  “Heavenly  King  of  Great  Peace.”  His  fa- 


380 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 


naticism  was  shown  in  the  position  which  he  claimed  for 
himself.  He  was  not  content,  as  Mohammed  was,  to  be 
simply  a  prophet  of  God.  He  claimed  to  be  the  third 
person  of  the  Trinity.  God  was  the  Heavenly  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  Celestial  Elder  Brother,  and  Hung 
Hsiu-ch’uan  was  the  Divine  Younger  Brother.  He  had 
his  own  version  of  the  New  Testament,  and  a  hymn  book 
also  that  was  used  in  the  religious  services.  Sunday  was 
observed  as  a  day  of  rest,  and  all  troops  had  to  parade 
for  worship.  In  the  beginning  the  movement  was,  perhaps, 
a  sincere  attempt  at  a  religious  reformation.  The  mas¬ 
sacres  that  stained  its  record,  to  the  zealous  converts  no 
doubt  seemed  justified  by  the  examples  given  by  the  Israel¬ 
ites  in  their  conquest  of  Canaan.  But  with  success  came 
volunteers  of  a  less  sincere  and  more  adventurous  character. 
The  Christian  missionaries  at  the  beginning  felt  encouraged 
by  the  movement,  thinking  that  Christianity  was  about  to 
become  the  religion  of  the  State  under  a  new  dynasty;  but 
investigation  showed  that  it  was  a  bastard  Christianity. 
I  talked  many  years  ago  with  Rev.  Griffith  John,  who  had 
visited  the  Taiping  leader  at  Nanking  in  the  days  of  his 
power.  He  said  that  the  visit  quickly  disillusioned  him. 
The  Taiping  King  had  simply  become  another  oriental 
monarch,  living  in  self-indulgence,  surrounded  by  a  harem 
of  more  than  eighty  women,  and  supported  by  the  looting 
of  the  empire.  There  was  no  organized  civil  government, 
and  apparently  there  was  no  constructive  programme.  It 
seemed  altogether  a  negative  and  a  destructive  movement. 
The  military  forces  were  well  organized  and  well  disci¬ 
plined,  but  a  movement  which  had  begun  as  a  religious 
crusade  was  ending  in  nothing  but  plunder,  outrage  and 
debauchery.  However  inefficient  the  Manchu  Government 
might  be — and  it  was  inefficient — the  flabby,  slimy  iniquity 
at  Nanking,  a  leech  sucking  the  life  blood  of  the  nation, 
could  do  nothing  to  better  conditions.  It  was  but  a  vile 
parasite  to  be  crushed  and  destroyed.  The  men  who  as¬ 
sisted  in  this  work  performed  a  real  service  for  the  people 
of  China. 

The  military  forces,  as  just  said,  maintained  a  fair  degree 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American  381 

of  discipline,  but  it  was  merely  a  discipline  that  preserved 
a  good  fighting  machine.  It  did  nothing  to  check  pillage 
or  promote  peaceful  industry.  The  leaders  for  the  most 
part  were  loyal  to  their  chief,  and  some  of  them  developed 
real  military  ability.  One  of  them,  however,  the  Eastern 
Prince,  began  in  1856  also  to  have  visions,  in  imitation  of 
the  “ Heavenly  King.”  But  such  imitation  was  not  con¬ 
sidered  flattery  by  the  chief.  He  had  a  monopoly  of  visions. 
Accordingly  two  other  princes  were  entrusted  with  the 
duty  of  putting  the  Eastern  Prince  out  of  the  way.  This 
they  did  very  expeditiously.  Assassination,  murder,  mas¬ 
sacre,  every  infamy  marked  the  advance  of  these  armies 
over  the  country.  Villages  were  razed.  Families  were 
broken  up  and  scattered.  The  people  fled  in  terror.  Years 
afterward  I  walked  over  the  ruins  of  many  of  these  de¬ 
serted  villages.  A  nurse  in  our  family,  sitting  in  the 
Garden  at  Shanghai,  fell  into  conversation  with  another 
Chinese  woman,  who  was  discovered  to  be  her  own  sister, 
lost  as  a  child  during  one  of  these  panics. 

To  the  loyal  Chinese  these  Taipings  were  known  as 
“Long-haired  Robbers.”  This  was  because  they  refused 
to  shave  the  head  and  wear  the  queue,  the  token  of  sub¬ 
mission  to  the  Manchu  Government. 


THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  WESTERN  POWERS 

There  was  a  disposition  for  a  time  in  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  to  recognize  the  new  dynasty.  Mr. 
McLane,  the  American  Commissioner  to  China  in  1855, 
was  authorized  to  do  so,  if,  after  investigation,  he  should 
think  it  advisable.  Strict  neutrality  was  maintained  for 
some  years  by  the  Western  Powers.  But  every  investi¬ 
gation  led  to  but  one  conclusion.  What  the  Rev.  Griffith 
John  had  found,  all  found — there  was  nothing  in  the 
movement  to  encourage  hope  that  the  Taipings  would  ever 
be  able  to  establish  an  orderly  government. 

When  Nanking  was  captured  in  1853  there  was,  of 
course,  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  among  the  Americans  and 


382 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 


Europeans  in  Shanghai,  who  did  not  know  how  soon  their 
own  homes  might  be  destroyed.  They  accordingly  organ¬ 
ized  a  volunteer  defense  corps,  and  dug  a  moat  on  the 
west  side  of  the  International  Settlement,  connecting  the 
creeks  that  bounded  this  settlement  on  the  north  and  south. 
The  Huangpu  River  is  on  the  east  side,  so  that  this  arrange¬ 
ment  caused  the  settlement  to  be  entirely  surrounded  by 
water. 

Secret  societies  have  flourished  in  China  from  ancient 
times,  and  generally,  though  not  always  they  are  of  a  politi¬ 
cal  character.  The  success  of  the  Taipings  encouraged 
these  revolutionary  secret  societies.  One  of  the  best  known 
is  that  called  the  Triad,  whose  members  are  often  called 
Chinese  Masons.  Their  lodge  and  ritual  have  points  of 
similarity  to  those  of  the  Free  Masons.  A  branch  of  this 
organization,  called  the  “ Little  Sword  Society”  captured 
the  native  city  of  Shanghai  in  1853.  It  was  then  a  walled 
city  of  some  50,000  inhabitants,  separated  from  the  French 
Concession  by  a  narrow  moat.  These  “Small  Swords” 
claimed  to  be  allied  to  the  Taipings,  but  the  “Heavenly 
King,”  after  investigation,  refused  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  them,  declaring  that  they  were  “too  immoral.” 
Thus  the  Taipings  lost  their  only  chance  of  acquiring  a 
sea-port,  with  the  opportunity  which  that  would  have  given 
of  obtaining  supplies  from  abroad. 

The  Imperialists,  in  their  attacks  upon  the  ‘  ‘  Small 
Swords,”  invaded  the  International  Settlement  on  one 
occasion,  and  came  into  contact  with  the  Foreign  Volun¬ 
teers,  who  drove  them  out.  This  indicates  plainly  that 
at  that  time  the  Western  Powers  had  no  more  sympathy 
with  the  Manchus  than  with  the  rebels. 

In  1859  when  Ward  made  his  first  offer  to  aid  the 
Imperial  forces,  he  was  arrested  and  brought  before  the 
American  Consul,  charged  with  violating  the  neutrality  of 
the  United  States.  He  tried  to  clear  himself  by  declaring 
that  he  had  taken  Chinese  nationality,  but,  as  that  claim 
was  a  manifest  absurdity  at  the  time,  he  was  locked  up 
on  board  the  American  naval  vessel  Chesapeake. 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 


383 


WARD ’S  SERVICES  1 

Not  long  afterwards,  being  allowed  on  deck  for  exercise, 
he  leaped  overboard  and  swam  ashore.  He  entered  into  a 
contract  with  a  Chinese  banking  firm,  Taki  (or  Tachi),  to 
capture  the  city  of  Sungkiang,  in  return  for  which  he 
was  to  receive  Tls.  30,000.  He  enlisted  a  hundred  sailors 
of  various  nationalities,  and  made  the  attempt,  but  failed. 
Returning  to  Shanghai,  he  discharged  this  nondescript 
force  and  substituted  one  hundred  Filipinos  and  two 
American  lieutenants.  With  this  small  force  he  succeeded 
in  driving  out  the  Taipings  and  capturing  the  city  of 
Sungkiang.  After  this  success  he  increased  his  force  and 
attempted  to  take  the  city  of  Tsingpu.  Again  he  failed, 
for  the  rebels  also  had  European  officers  there  and  their 
force  was  stronger  than  Ward’s.  Ward,  too,  was  wounded. 
He  realized  then  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  organize 
and  drill  a  large  body  of  troops.  This,  when  his  wounds 
were  healed,  he  proceeded  to  do.  The  troops  thus  drilled, 
because  of  their  successes,  became  known  later  as  the 
“ Ever-Victorious  Army.” 

Ward  was  a  natural  leader.  He  had  great  influence  over 
his  men,  and  was  admired  and  trusted  by  them.  His  suc¬ 
cess  in  holding  Sungkiang  against  a  severe  attack  by  the 
Taipings,  and  his  victories  over  the  rebels  in  repeated  en¬ 
gagements,  finally  brought  the  British  and  American 
Governments  to  his  support.  China  in  recognition  of  his 
services  gave  him  a  commission  as  Brigadier  General. 
With  a  large  Chinese  army  under  his  command,  braced 
by  his  own  well-drilled  troops  and  supported  by  the  for¬ 
eign  authorities  at  Shanghai,  he  soon  had  the  country 
cleared  of  rebels  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles  around 
that  port.  The  Chinese  generals  in  the  Imperial  army 
at  that  time  were  men  of  much  more  than  ordinary  ability. 
Tseng  Kuo-fan,  a  Hunan  man,  was  generalissimo,  and  his 
chief  lieutenant  was  a  rising  young  man  of  Anhui  Prov- 

i  For  life  of  Ward,  see  Historical  Collections  of  the  Essex  Insti¬ 
tute,  Vol.  XLIV,  “Frederick  Townsend  Ward,”  by  Rob’t  S.  Rantoul. 


384  The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 

ince,  afterwards  known  all  over  the  world  as  the  Premier, 
Li  Hung-chang.  They  were  true  patriots,  who  made  the 
welfare  of  the  State  their  chief  concern.  Ward  continued 
his  successes  until,  on  the  21st  of  September,  1862,  in  the 
attack  on  Tzeki  (Tzuchi),  about  ten  miles  from  Ningpo, 
when  attempting  to  scale  the  city  wall,  he  was  shot  and 
mortally  wounded.  He  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  Chinese 
associates,  and  his  death  was  greatly  deplored. 


POSTHUMOUS  HONORS  CONFERRED 

The  Imperial  Government,  upon  learning  of  his  death, 
at  once  issued  an  edict  directing  that  certain  honors  should 
be  conferred  upon  him.  He  was  given  posthumous  promo¬ 
tion  in  military  rank,  and  two  temples  were  ordered  to 
be  erected  to  his  memory,  one  at  Ningpo,  near  which  city 
he  was  killed,  and  the  other  at  Sungkiang,  the  place  of  his 
burial.  When  the  American  Charge  d ’Affaires  at  Peking 
learned  of  this  decree  he  went  to  the  Foreign  Office  and 
suggested  that,  as  Americans  did  not  erect  temples  for 
the  worship  of  the  dead,  it  would  be  better  simply  to  raise 
a  stone  monument  at  Ward’s  grave.  But  the  Chinese 
conformed  to  their  own  custom  and  honored  the  dead 
warrior  in  their  own  way. 

In  1901,  while  I  was  serving  as  a  Secretary  in  the  Lega¬ 
tion  at  Peking,  it  became  my  duty,  in  response  to  a  request 
from  the  Essex  Institute  at  Salem,  to  get  a  copy  of  the 
imperial  edict  just  mentioned  and  translate  it.  The 
Foreign  Office  at  once  turned  up  the  records  and  sent  a 
copy  of  the  edict. 


SUCCESSORS  TO  WARD 

The  first  attempts  to  find  a  satisfactory  commander  for 
the  Ever-Victorious  Army  after  Ward’s  death  were  not 
successful ;  but  on  March  25,  1863,  Major  Charles  George 
Gordon,  of  the  British  Royal  Engineers,  was  permitted  by 
his  government  to  take  the  post.  There  was  considerable 


The  Apotheosis  of  an  American  385 

feeling  in  the  army  against  having  a  British  commander. 
But  they  followed  Gordon  for  a  time  and  he  led  them  to 
victory.  Subsequently,  however,  many  mutinied.  About 
half  the  army  quit  before  the  capture  of  Soochow,  in 
December,  1863.  But  Gordon  was  a  good  officer  and  a 
successful  general.  He  filled  up  the  ranks  with  prisoners 
captured  from  the  Taipings.  The  morale  of  the  rebels  had 
already  been  destroyed  by  Ward’s  victories,  and  from 
this  time  on  to  the  end  their  fall  was  rapid.  Gordon  was 
a  high-minded  man  and  could  not  get  on  with  the  Chinese. 
He  had  promised  clemency  to  the  Taiping  leaders  at  Soo¬ 
chow  if  they  surrendered.  After  they  had  done  so  the 
Chinese  commander,  Li  Hung-chang,  ordered  their  execu¬ 
tion.  This  so  enraged  Gordon  that  he  was  disposed  to 
resign.  He  remained  in  command,  however,  until  the  fall 
of  Changchow,  in  May,  1864,  and  left  the  service  in  the 
following  month. 

THE  END  OF  THE  REBELLION 

The  war  continued  more  than  a  year  after  his  resigna¬ 
tion,  but  the  Ever- Victorious  Army  was  disbanded,  and  the 
military  operations  of  the  last  year  were  conducted  by  the 
Chinese  themselves.  The  walls  of  Nanking  were  breached 
in  July,  1865,  and  the  city  was  taken  by  storm.  On  the 
30th  day  of  June  preceding,  the  Taiping  King  had  already 
committed  suicide.  In  August  the  last  remnants  of  the 
rebel  army  were  captured  and  scattered. 

While  I  was  living  in  Nanking  in  the  closing  decade  of 
the  last  century,  I  had  occasion  often  to  pass  a  small 
Buddhist  convent  in  the  western  part  of  the  city,  where 
one  of  the  ladies  of  the  “Heavenly  King’s”  harem  was 
still  living  in  seclusion.  She  had  taken  the  vows  of  a  nun. 

Gordon  was  honored,  both  by  the  Chinese  and  by  his 
own  government.  He  was  a  man  cast  in  heroic  mould, 
and  fell  a  martyr  to  his  trust  in  others  and  his  devotion 
to  a  cause  that  he  regarded  as  a  cause  of  peace  and  right¬ 
eousness. 

Ward  and  Gordon  were  of  wholly  different  stamp, 


386  The  Apotheosis  of  an  American 

strongly  contrasting  with  one  another.  Bom  on  opposite 
shores  of  the  Atlantic,  widely  sundered  in  heritage  and 
training,  their  graves,  too,  are  separated  by  the  breadth 
of  the  earth.  Yet  their  lives  touched  for  a  brief  moment 
and  flowed  in  one  channel.  Ward  was  slain  by  Chinese 
fanaticism.  Gordon,  abandoned  in  Khartum,  fell  before 
the  fanaticism  of  the  Mahdi.  Both  gave  their  lives  for 
the  welfare  of  an  alien  race,  and  lie  buried  under  foreign 
skies.  The  memory  of  one  is  preserved  by  a  monument  of 
bronze,  erected  by  his  own  people  in  far  Khartum;  that 
of  the  other  by  a  temple  and  altar,  and  the  incense  and 
sacrifices  offered  by  a  pagan  people  to  his  spirit. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


BURLINGAME  AND  ORIENTAL  IMMIGRATION 

It  is  an  accepted  maxim  of  international  law  that  every  sover¬ 
eign  nation  has  the  power,  as  inherent  in  its  sovereignty  and  essen¬ 
tial  to  self-preservation,  to  foxbid  the  entrance  of  foreigners  within 
its  dominions,  or  to  admit  them  only  in  such  cases  and  upon  such 
conditions  as  it  may  see  fit  to  prescribe. — Yattel. 

China ’s  defeat  in  the  two  wars  fought  with  Great  Britain 
compelled  her  to  allow  British  and  other  powers  to  send 
diplomatic  representatives  to  reside  in  Peking.  But  she 
yielded  with  a  bad  grace,  and  her  Court  had  as  little 
intercourse  as  possible  with  these  representatives  of  states 
that  she  regarded  as  barbarous.  For  some  years  she 
ignored  all  suggestions  that  she  should  reciprocate  by  send¬ 
ing  Chinese  envoys  to  the  Western  world. 

It  was  Mr. — afterwards  Sir — Robert  Hart  who  persuaded 
the  Chinese  Foreign  Office  to  modify  its  policy  in  this 
regard.  Hart  had  come  as  Acting  Inspector  General  of 
Customs  from  Shanghai  to  Peking  in  1862,  and  in  1863 
had  obtained  the  substantive  appointment  to  that  office, 
in  which  his  tact  and  his  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  his 
Chinese  employers  won  their  confidence  and  regard. 


THE  MARITIME  CUSTOMS  SERVICE 

To  explain  Hart’s  position  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  brief 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  Maritime  Customs  Service, 
of  which  he  was  the  chief  executive  officer.  It  was  the 
Taiping  Rebellion  that  made  possible  the  reorganization  of 
the  customs  under  the  supervision  of  Europeans.  While 
rebel  forces  were  in  occupation  of  Shanghai  arid  the  West¬ 
ern  powers  were  maintaining  strict  neutrality,  the  Chinese 

387 


388  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

customs  authorities  were  unable  to  function  at  that  port. 
The  Consuls  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  allowed 
their  nationals  to  give  bonds  for  the  payment  of  duties  at 
some  future  date.  This  action  was  disavowed  by  their 
governments.  The  Chinese  Customs  Taotai,  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  foreign  settlement,  was  then  persuaded  to 
agree  to  the  establishment  of  a  commission  composed  of 
one  American,  one  British  subject,  and  one  Frenchman,  to 
superintend  the  collection  of  duties  at  the  port.  Subse¬ 
quently  it  was  found  to  be  a  more  efficient  method  to  place 
the  office  under  one  head.  Mr.  Lay,  of  the  British  Con¬ 
sular  Service,  was  selected.  The  control  was  gradually 
extended  to  other  ports  where  the  officers  of  the  imperial 
government  had  been  unable  to  act;  and  after  the  second 
war  with  Great  Britain,  when  the  customs  revenues  were 
pledged  by  treaty  for  the  payment  by  China  of  the  indem¬ 
nities  exacted  by  Great  Britain  and  France,  the  Chinese 
Government,  in  1861,  appointed  Lay  to  be  Inspector  Gen¬ 
eral  of  the  Imperial  Maritime  Customs.  In  1863  he  was 
succeeded,  as  already  said,  by  Robert  Hart.  Hart  also 
came  from  the  British  Consular  Service.  It  is  to  his  wis¬ 
dom  and  executive  ability  that  China  to-day  owes  the 
Maritime  Customs  which  so  satisfactorily  serves  the  Repub¬ 
lic.  During  the  more  than  sixty  years  of  its  supervision 
of  the  foreign  trade  of  China,  it  has  in  addition  to  the 
collection  of  duties  done  much  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
the  country.  It  has  surveyed  the  coasts  and  rivers,  built 
light-houses,  buoyed  the  channels,  established  a  postal 
system,  protected  the  health  of  the  ports,  and  established 
a  bureau  of  statistics  whose  records  supply  us  with  the 
only  reliable  data  on  many  subjects  related  to  commerce 
and  social  conditions.  Its  school  of  languages,  opened  at 
Peking  in  1862,  and  designed  to  educate  men  for  interpret¬ 
ers,  was  the  nucleus  from  which  the  national  university 
developed. 

A  DIPLOMATIC  SERVICE 

Sir  Robert  had  frequently  urged  the  government  to  estab¬ 
lish  legations  and  consulates.  On  his  return  from  leave 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  389 

of  absence  in  1867  he  took  up  the  matter  again.  At  this 
time  the  American  Minister  in  Peking  was  Anson  Burlin¬ 
game.  He  had  been  appointed  in  1861,  and  had  arrived 
in  Peking  in  July,  1862.  He  was  genial  and  tactful  and 
a  man  of  sanguine  temperament.  Chinese  and  Europeans 
were  alike  drawn  to  him,  and  when  the  Chinese  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs  learned,  in  1867,  that  Mr.  Burlingame 
was  about  to  resign  his  post,  he  was  requested  by  the 
Chinese  Government  to  accept  appointment  as  the  ambas¬ 
sador  from  China  to  the  governments  of  the  Western  world. 

Accordingly  on  the  25th  of  February,  1868,  he  set  sail 
from  Shanghai  for  San  Francisco,  accompanied  by  one 
Manchu  and  one  Chinese  officer,  both  of  high  rank,  by  one 
British  and  one  French  Secretary,  and  by  some  thirty 
Chinese  secretaries  and  attaches.1  He  was  well  received 
in  the  United  States,  but  his  fervent  oratory  there  aroused 
expectations  in  the  breasts  of  his  hearers  that  were  im¬ 
possible  of  fulfillment  in  the  then  near  future.  The  Chinese 
Government,  in  sending  the  mission  abroad,  wanted  such 
representation  made  of  the  actual  conditions  in  their  coun¬ 
try  as  would  make  the  Western  powers  more  tolerant  and 
less  disposed  to  press  China  to  adopt  in  hasty  fashion  the 
inventions  and  methods  of  the  West.  Mr.  Burlingame, 
however,  saw  in  his  appointment  an  evidence  of  great 
progress.  His  mind  dwelt  only  upon  the  tremendous 
changes  that  were  sure  to  follow  eventually  in  the  wake 
of  this  movement.  He  failed  to  note  the  obstacles  in  the 
immediate  foreground  because  his  gaze  was  fixed  upon  the 
attractive  future  in  perspective. 

From  the  United  States  the  embassy  proceeded  to  Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany  and  Russia.  The  promise  to 
avoid  undue  pressure  upon  China  was  given  by  the  Amer¬ 
ican,  British  and  German  Governments.  The  French  made 
no  engagements  in  regard  to  the  matter.  All  these  gov¬ 
ernments  called  attention  to  the  unwillingness  of  the 
Chinese  Emperor  to  give  audiences  to  Western  diplomatic 
representatives,  and  the  British  and  French  sovereigns  re- 

i  See  Morse,  International  Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  Yol.  II, 
Chap.  IX. 


390  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 


ceived  the  mission  only  on  the  distinct  understanding  that 
the  young  Emperor,  Tungchih,  would  give  audience  to  their 
ministers  as  soon  as  he  attained  his  majority.  In  St. 
Petersburg  Mr.  Burlingame  was  taken  ill.  He  died  there 
in  February,  1870,  and  the  other  members  of  the  mission 
returned  to  China. 

Mr.  Burlingame  has  been  rather  severely  criticised  for 
his  roseate  descriptions  of  the  conditions  in  China,  which, 
in  his  view,  indicated  impending  changes  of  great  moment 
that  were  to  modernize  that  hoary  empire.  But,  after  all 
is  said,  the  spirit  of  hopefulness  that  animated  him  was 
better  than  the  pessimism  of  his  critics.  The  cabinets  of 
the  Western  world  needed  the  corrective  of  his  opinions. 
They  had  looked  too  long  on  the  dark  side  of  the  shield; 
they  needed  to  view  the  situation  from  another  angle  and 
to  give  due  consideration  to  Chinese  sentiment  if  they  were 
to  deal  fairly  with  China.  If  in  Burlingame’s  over¬ 
sanguine  anticipation  of  results  he  failed  to  see  the  diffi¬ 
culties  of  the  immediate  future,  he  nevertheless  succeeded 
in  the  chief  purpose  of  his  mission;  he  brought  about  in 
the  West  a  better  feeling  towards  China,  and  he  prepared 
the  way  for  the  appointment  of  Chinese  diplomatic  rep¬ 
resentatives  abroad. 

THE  TREATY  OF  1868 

While  in  Washington,  Burlingame  negotiated  with  the 
American  Government  a  new  treaty,  which  in  its  final 
article — Article  VIII — gave  to  the  Chinese  Government 
the  assurance  that  the  United  States  disclaimed  “Any 
intention  to  intervene  in  the  domestic  administration  of 
China  in  regard  to  the  construction  of  railroads,  telegraphs, 
or  other  material  internal  improvements.”  This  met  very 
fully  the  request  of  the  Chinese  that  the  powers  would 
refrain  from  pressing  China  unduly  to  modernize  the 
country.  The  first  article  recognizes  China’s  right  of  emi¬ 
nent  domain  in  the  areas  set  aside  at  the  open  ports  for 
foreign  residence  and  trade.  This  may  very  properly  be 
considered  the  beginning  of  American  interest  in  the  pres- 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  391 

ervation  of  China’s  territorial  integrity.  Article  II  recog¬ 
nized  China’s  right  to  regulate  her  internal  trade,  and 
Article  III  provided  for  the  opening  of  Chinese  consulates 
in  the  United  States. 

The  most  striking  provision  of  the  treaty,  however,  is 
that  of  Article  Y,  the  first  sentence  of  which  reads  as 
follows : 

The  United  States  of  America  and  the  Emperor  of  China 
cordially  recognize  the  inherent  and  inalienable  right  of  man 
to  change  his  home  and  allegiance,  and  also  the  mutual  advantage 
of  the  free  migration  and  emigration  of  their  citizens  and  sub¬ 
jects  respectively  from  one  country  to  the  other,  for  purposes 
of  curiosity,  of  trade,  or  as  permanent  residents. 

Equally  interesting  is  a  sentence  in  Article  VI,  which 
declares  that: 

Chinese  subjects  visiting  or  residing  in  the  United  States  shall 
enjoy  the  same  privileges,  immunities  and  exemptions  in  respect 
to  travel  or  residence  as  may  be  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  or  sub¬ 
jects  of  the  most  favored  nation. 

It  was  distinctly  stated,  however,  that  nothing  in  this 
article  was  to  confer  naturalization  upon  Americans  in 
China  or  upon  Chinese  in  the  United  States. 

The  provisions  just  quoted  were  in  entire  harmony  with 
the  policy  which  the  American  Government  had  followed 
up  to  that  time.  Our  country  was  to  be  an  asylum  for 
the  oppressed  of  all  nations.  We  welcomed  with  open  arms 
immigrants  from  all  lands.  The  American  Government 
had  for  years  been  urging  upon  European  statesmen  the 
recognition  of  an  inherent  right  in  man  to  change  his  home 
and  allegiance.  Secretary  Seward  and  Ambassador  Bur¬ 
lingame  were  but  urging  upon  China  that  which  they  had 
pressed  upon  Europe.  China,  in  agreeing  to  these  provi¬ 
sions,  was  abrogating  an  age-old  statute  of  the  empire, 
which  forbade  Chinese  to  go  abroad. 

At  the  time  this  treaty  was  negotiated  there  was,  no 
doubt,  a  great  demand  for  labor  upon  the  Pacific  coast  of 
the  United  States,  which  accounts  for  the  encouragement 


392  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

given  by  the  American  Government  to  Chinese  immigration, 
a  policy  so  opposed  to  present  practice.  Despite  Chinese 
statutes  to  the  contrary  there  had  been  a  great  deal  of 
voluntary  emigration  from  the  southern  provinces  of  China 
to  the  East  Indies,  and  there  had  also  developed  a  bar¬ 
barous  coolie  traffic,  by  which  tens  of  thousands  of  Chinese, 
who  had  been  deceived  into  signing  contracts  or  who  had 
been  kidnaped,  had  been  forced  into  involuntary  servi¬ 
tude  in  certain  American  countries,  as  stated  in  an  earlier 
chapter.  American  legislation  had  forbidden  American 
vessels  to  engage  in  this  cruel  business.  The  treaty  under 
consideration,  therefore,  in  providing  for  Chinese  immigra¬ 
tion  into  the  United  States,  declared  that  both  the  high 
contracting  parties  reprobated  ‘ 1  any  other  than  an  entirely 
voluntary  emigration.  ’  ’ 

The  Chinese  had  been  coming  to  the  United  States  in 
considerable  numbers  ever  since  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California,  whose  Chinese  name  is  “The  Old  Gold  Moun¬ 
tains.”  Besides  engaging  in  mining,  they  did  much  of  the 
agricultural  work  of  California,  and  had  been  successfully 
employed  in  railway  building  and  in  other  enterprises, 
there  and  in  other  states. 

In  1868,  the  year  in  which  the  Burlingame  treaty  was 
negotiated,  there  were  already  some  60,000  Chinese  in  the 
United  States.  The  largest  number  admitted  in  any  one 
year  was  39,579  in  1882.  The  average  annual  immigration 
over  a  period  of  thirty  years  was  a  little  more  than  9000. 
The  largest  number  at  any  one  time  in  the  country  was 
107,488  in  1890. 

The  Chinese  were  slow  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  1868. 
Ratifications  were  exchanged  in  November,  1869,  and  the 
treaty  was  not  proclaimed  in  the  United  States  until 
February,  1870. 

EXCLUSION  OF  CHINESE 

Agitation  against  its  provisions  as  to  Chinese  immigra¬ 
tion  began  shortly  afterwards.  It  was  recognized  gener¬ 
ally  that  the  Chinese  were  industrious,  thrifty  and  law- 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  393 

abiding,  and  that  the  Chinese  merchant  was  honorable  in 
his  dealings.  The  agitation  was  chiefly  against  the  coolies 
engaged  in  manual  labor.  They  had  been  accustomed  to 
small  wages  at  home,  and  their  standard  of  living  was  a 
low  one,  one  which  white  men  could  not  accept.  They 
crowded  themselves  together  in  the  tenements  of  San 
Francisco  and  other  cities  in  insanitary  quarters,  and  were 
regarded  as  a  menace,  both  to  the  welfare  of  the  white 
laborer  and  to  the  health  of  the  community. 

These  facts  were  published  on  the  street  corners  by 
Dennis  Kearney  and  others  with  so  much  success  that  the 
Congress,  in  1876,  appointed  a  commission  to  investigate 
the  situation.  That  commission  reported  in  1877,  and  in 
the  following  year  a  bill  was  passed  forbidding  the  immi¬ 
gration  of  Chinese  laborers.  President  Hayes  promptly 
vetoed  it  as  a  violation  of  our  obligations  under  the  treaty. 
But  in  1880  a  commission  headed  by  President  Angell,  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  went  to  Peking  to  endeavor 
to  obtain  China’s  consent  to  a  modification  of  the  treaty. 
The  Chinese  generously  agreed  to  the  request  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Government,  and  entered  into  a  new  treaty  whose 
first  article  provides  that : 

Whenever  in  the  opinion  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers  to  the  United  States,  or 
their  residence  therein,  affects  or  threatens  to  affect  the  interests 
of  that  country,  or  to  endanger  the  good  order  of  the  said  country 
or  of  any  locality  within  the  territory  thereof,  the  Government  of 
China  agrees  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  may 
regulate,  limit  or  suspend  such  coming  or  residence,  but  may  not 
absolutely  prohibit  it. 

Pursuant  to  this  agreement,  the  Congress  in  1882  passed 
a  bill  suspending  Chinese  immigration  for  twenty  years. 
This  President  Arthur  vetoed,  on  the  ground  that  it 
violated  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  of  1880,  which  clearly 
agreed  that  the  limitation  or  suspension  of  immigration 
should  be  ‘  ‘  reasonable.  ”  He  held  that  twenty  years  was 
an  unreasonably  long  period.  Yielding  to  the  President’s 
argument  Congress  then  reduced  the  period  to  ten  years. 


394  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

But  neither  the  treaty  of  1880  nor  the  legislation  of  1882 
satisfied  the  leaders  of  the  anti-Chinese  agitation,  and  in 
1888  the  government  sought  a  new  treaty  with  China  which 
aimed  at  a  virtual  prohibition  of  Chinese  labor  immigration. 
During  the  negotiations  the  campaign  preceding  a  national 
election  had  already  begun.  The  two  great  parties  were 
struggling  to  obtain  the  suffrages  of  the  Pacific  coast  states, 
and  Congress  hurriedly  passed  a  bill  in  glaring  violation 
of  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1880,  absolutely  prohibit¬ 
ing  the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers.  President  Cleve¬ 
land,  for  party’s  sake,  allowed  it  to  become  a  law. 

The  situation  was  rectified  in  1894  by  a  new  treaty,  which 
permitted  the  exclusion  of  Chinese  laborers  for  ten  years. 
Chinese  self-respect  was  wounded  by  this  agreement.  Six 
months  before  the  termination  of  the  treaty  in  1904,  to 
prevent  its  automatic  renewal,  China,  in  accordance  with 
its  provisions,  gave  due  notice  to  the  American  Government 
that  it  would  not  be  renewed. 

The  American  Legation  at  Peking,  under  instruction 
from  the  Department  of  State,  began  at  once  to  hold  con¬ 
versations  with  the  Chinese  Foreign  Office  looking  toward 
the  negotiation  of  a  new  treaty.  Various  drafts  and 
counter-drafts  were  submitted  as  possible  substitutes  for 
the  obnoxious  clauses  of  the  old  treaty.  The  writer  was 
present  at  these  conferences.  The  American  Minister, 
Hon.  W.  W.  Rockhill,  found  it  impossible  to  persuade  the 
Chinese  Premier,  Prince  Ch’ing,  to  agree  to  any  proposal 
that  would  at  all  satisfy  the  Department  of  State.  Prince 
Ch  ’ing  and  his  associates  of  the  Foreign  Office  were  always 
urbane.  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  their  friendly  disposi¬ 
tion  toward  the  American  Government  and  its  representa¬ 
tives.  They  had  not  forgotten  Minister  Rockhill ’s  services 
in  the  Boxer  negotiations  of  1901,  but  to  agree  to  any 
further  humiliation  in  the  matter  of  Chinese  immigration 
into  the  United  States  was  a  sacrifice  of  dignity  and  self- 
respect  which  they  were  determined  to  avoid.  Prince 
Ch’ing  was  strengthened  in  his  resolution  by  the  action  of 
the  Chinese  at  Shanghai,  Canton  and  elsewhere,  in  boy¬ 
cotting  American  trade. 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  39 5 

The  boycott  was  suggested  by  Chinese  in  San  Francisco 
and  other  American  cities.  It  is  a  favorite  weapon  m 
China.  Through  several  months  in  1904  and  1905  Ameri¬ 
can  trade  suffered  considerably.  The  Chinese  Government 
did  not  authorize  the  boycott.  On  the  contrary,  at  the 
request  of  the  American  Minister,  they  issued  proclama¬ 
tions  against  it.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  plain  revelation  to 
the  Peking  authorities  of  the  sentiment  of  the  Chinese 
people.  The  negotiations  for  a  new  treaty  failed.  The  boy¬ 
cott,  too,  was  abandoned,  and  Congress  passed  a  law  making 
permanent  the  exclusion  of  Chinese  laborers  from  the 
United  States.  China  refused  to  make  herself  a  party  to 
such  proceeding,  and  quietly  ignored  it.  One  result  of  the 
legislation  has  been  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  number  of 
Chinese  residents  in  our  country.  From  107,488  in  1890, 
the  number  dwindled  to  71,531  in  1910.  At  present  (1922) 
it  is  estimated  that  there  are  about  65,000  here.  Of  this 
number  probably  one-third  are  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
by  virtue  of  nativity. 

JAPANESE  IMMIGRATION 

Another  result  of  the  anti- Chinese  agitation  has  been  an 
increase  of  Japanese  residents.  When  the  first  restrictions 
upon  Chinese  immigration  were  permitted  by  the  treaty 
of  1880,  there  were  but  148  Japanese  in  the  United  States. 
In  1890  there  were  2039.  In  1909  there  were  in  round 
numbers  100,000.  In  1920  the  number  in  one  state — Cali¬ 
fornia — was  given  as  87,279.  The  total  number  at  present 
(1922)  in  the  whole  country  is  probably  about  120,000. 
The  agitation  against  Oriental  immigration  to-day,  there¬ 
fore,  is  directed  mainly  against  the  Japanese,  but  in  a  lesser 
degree  against  Chinese  and  Hindus  also.  Early  in  the 
present  century  the  demand  for  the  exclusion  of  Japanese 
labor  began  to  be  heard.  To  prevent  the  enactment  of  an 
exclusion  law,  Japan  sanctioned  an  oral  agreement  between 
the  Japanese  Ambassador  and  the  Secretary  of  State,  in 
which  Japan  voluntarily  bound  herself  not  to  issue  pass¬ 
ports  for  the  United  States  to  laborers.  This  is  known  as 


396  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

the  ‘ 1  Gentleman ’s  Agreement.”  It  is  not  a  signed  agree¬ 
ment;  it  is  an  oral  promise  which  Japan  is  in  honor  bound 
to  keep.  There  is,  however,  in  the  Department  of  State 
an  unsigned  memorandum  of  the  conversations.  In 
signing  the  new  commercial  treaty  of  1911  between  the 
United  States  and  Japan  the  Japanese  Ambassador  added 
to  the  treaty  the  following  statement : 

In  proceeding  this  day  to  the  signature  of  the  Treaty  of  Com¬ 
merce  and  Navigation  between  Japan  and  the  United  States,  the 
undersigned,  Japanese  Ambassador  in  Washington,  duly  author¬ 
ized  by  his  Government,  has  the  honor  to  declare  that  the  Impe¬ 
rial  Japanese  Government  are  fully  prepared  to  maintain  with 
equal  effectiveness  the  limitation  and  control  which  they  have  for 
the  past  three  years  exercised  in  regulation  of  the  emigration  of 
laborers  to  the  United  States. 

This  is  the  only  approach  to  an  immigration  convention 
between  Japan  and  the  United  States,  and  this  is  merely 
a  unilateral  declaration  of  policy.  Japan  can  rescind  that 
declaration  whenever  so  disposed. 

The  treaty  of  commerce  and  navigation,  referred  to  in 
the  declaration  just  quoted,  makes  no  restriction  upon  the 
incoming  of  Japanese.  The  provisions  are  entirely  recipro¬ 
cal.  They  grant  to  the  Japanese  in  the  United  States  all 
that  Americans  are  granted  in  Japan.  Article  I  reads  as 
follows : 

The  citizens  and  subjects  of  each  of  the  High  Contracting 
Part  ies  shall  have  liberty  to  enter,  travel  and  reside  in  the  terri¬ 
tories  of  the  other  to  carry  on  trade,  wholesale  and  retail,  to 
own  or  lease  and  occupy  houses,  manufactories,  warehouses  and 
shops,  to  employ  agents  of  their  choice,  to  lease  land  for  resi¬ 
dential  and  commercial  purposes,  and  generally  to  do  anything 
incident  to  or  necessary  for  trade,  upon  the  same  terms  as  native 
citizens  or  subjects,  submitting  themselves  to  the  laws  and  regu¬ 
lations  there  established. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  treaty  gives  Americans  the  right 
to  reside  in  Japan  and  Japanese  a  right  to  reside  in  the 
United  States  for  one  purpose — “to  carry  on  trade.” 
There  is  no  comma  following  the  phrase,  “reside  in  the 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  397 

territories  of  the  other,”  so  that  the  words  which  follow 
it,  “to  carry  on  trade,”  define  the  purpose  of  residence. 
The  writer,  who  was  connected  with  the  Department  of 
State  during  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty,  knows  that  this 
interpretation  was  that  put  upon  the  clause  by  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Government.  The  treaty  does  not  forbid  residence  for 
other  purposes,  but  no  American  could  claim  that  the 
treaty  gives  him  a  right  to  live  in  Japan  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  on  agriculture.  The  same  is  true  of  Japanese 
who  come  to  the  United  States.  Agriculture  has  to  do  with 
production;  commerce  with  exchange.  The  treaty  is  a 
treaty  of  ‘  ‘  commerce  and  navigation,  ’  ’  and  therefore,  deals 
specifically  with  these  things.  It  does  not  limit  residence 
in  Japan  to  those  Americans  who  are  there  for  purposes 
of  trade,  but  it  is  intended  to  define  the  rights  of  those 
who  are  there  for  that  purpose.  And  reciprocally  this  is 
true  also  of  Japanese  in  the  United  States.  It  should  be 
noted,  too,  that  the  article  gives  the  right  to  own  homes, 
but  not  the  right  to  own  land.  The  right  to  lease  land  is 
granted  provided  it  is  leased  for  residential  and  commer¬ 
cial  purposes.  There  is  no  grant  of  a  right  to  lease  land 
for  agricultural  purposes.  Such  leasing  is  not  forbidden 
by  the  treaty,  but  the  treaty  is  silent  upon  the  question. 


RECENT  LEGISLATION 

This  matter  of  the  owning  or  leasing  of  land  by  Orientals 
for  agricultural  purposes  has  become  a  very  serious  one 
in  certain  states  of  the  Union.  It  is  this  which  is  respon¬ 
sible  for  much  of  the  present  day  agitation  against  Oriental 
immigration. 

In  1913  the  increase  of  land  holdings  by  Japanese  in 
California  led  to  state  legislation  limiting  land  ownership 
by  aliens  to  those  who  were  eligible  to  naturalization  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States.  Orientals  who  are  neither 
white  nor  black  are  ineligible  to  naturalization.  Leases  of 
land  to  aliens  not  eligible  to  naturalization  were  permitted, 
but  were  to  be  limited  to  three  years’  duration.  But,  inas- 


398  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 


much  as  there  are  many  minor  children  of  Oriental  parent¬ 
age  who  are  native-born  American  citizens,  it  has  been 
possible  for  lands  to  be  purchased  in  the  names  of  such 
children,  and  occupied  by  their  parents  as  guardians  of 
such  minor  children.  In  1920  attempt  was  made  to  deprive 
the  Oriental  parents  of  this  natural  right  to  guardianship 
over  their  children.  The  courts,  of  course,  decided  against 
the  constitutionality  of  such  legislation. 

Even  the  law  limiting  ownership  of  land  by  aliens  to 
those  who  are  eligible  to  citizenship  can  scarcely  accomplish 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended,  because  there  are 
already  in  the  state  of  California  many  Orientals  who  are 
native-born  Americans,  and  therefore,  held  to  be  American 
citizens  who  can,  and  no  doubt  will,  form  land-owning  com¬ 
panies,  that  can  purchase  or  lease  all  the  land  that  their 
race  may  require  for  agricultural  purposes. 

The  situation  in  1916  had  become  so  critical  along  the 
Pacific  Coast  that  when  a  new  bill,  restricting  immigration, 
was  introduced  into  Congress,  attempt  was  made  to  incor¬ 
porate  in  its  text  a  reference  to  the  “ Gentleman’s  Agree¬ 
ment.”  The  intent  was  to  provide  for  the  exclusion  of 
Japanese  laborers  in  case  the  “Agreement”  should  be  ter¬ 
minated.  The  proposed  clause  would  have  exempted  from 
the  provisions  of  the  law  any  country  that  voluntarily 
refused  passports  to  laborers,  but  only  so  long  as  the  re¬ 
striction  was  enforced.  The  Japanese  Ambassador  at  first 
made  no  objection  to  this  phraseology,  and  of  course,  he 
did  not  claim  the  right  to  object  to  any  phraseology;  but 
in  the  following  year,  1917,  he  did  intimate  to  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  State  that  any  attempt  to  make  the  Gentleman’s 
Agreement  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  land  was  contrary  to 
the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  “Agreement,”  which  was  to 
leave  the  matter  entirely  to  the  voluntary  action  of  the 
Japanese  Government.  Various  attempts  were  made  to 
modify  the  phraseology  so  as  to  meet  the  Japanese  objec¬ 
tion,  and  at  the  same  time  provide  for  the  exclusion  of 
certain  Oriental  laborers  who  were  not  excluded,  either 
by  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  or  by  the  “Gentleman’s 
Agreement.”  Finally,  a  very  cumbersome  substitute  was 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  399 

accepted  which  excluded  immigrants  coming  from  regions 
bounded  by  certain  meridians  of  longitude  and  parallels 
of  latitude. 

In  the  legislatures  of  a  number  of  north-western  states, 
in  1917,  bills  were  introduced  patterned  after  the  Cali¬ 
fornia  law,  but  at  the  request  of  the  Department  of  State 
they  were  abandoned.  Since  the  nation  was  engaged  in 
war,  the  Government  at  Washington  thought  it  an  inoppor¬ 
tune  time  to  offend  the  sensibilities  of  those  who  were 
associated  with  us  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  But 
with  the  coming  of  peace  the  agitation  has  been  revived. 


REASONS  FOR  EXCLUSION 

The  causes  for  the  agitation  against  Oriental  immigra¬ 
tion  are  chiefly  of  two  sorts,  racial  and  economic. 

However  unreasonable  race  prejudice  may  be,  it  is  folly 
to  close  one’s  eyes  and  pretend  that  it  does  not  exist.  There 
are  men  in  every  race  who  rise  above  it,  but  among  the 
masses  it  is  still  potent.  The  Chinese  and  Japanese  feel 
a  racial  antipathy  to  the  European.  That  I  have  experi¬ 
enced  during  a  long  residence  in  the  Far  East.  On  the 
other  hand  the  white  man  regards  all  colored  races  as 
inferior.  This  race  prejudice  is  an  inheritance  of  the  ages, 
a  primitive  passion,  and  primitive  passions  are  still  the 
most  powerful  forces  in  human  society.  The  zoning  ordi¬ 
nances  of  certain  California  cities,  which  restrict  the  resi¬ 
dence  of  Orientals  to  certain  districts,  have  their  origin 
in  part  in  this  feeling.  Difference  of  color,  difference  of 
language,  difference  of  religion,  strange  dress,  peculiar 
customs  and  curious  diet,  all  tend  to  awaken  a  feeling  of 
hostility  in  the  breast  of  the  ordinary  man,  who  is  the 
center  of  his  own  little  world  and  regards  his  practices  as 
the  hall-mark  of  civilization. 

The  zoning  ordinances  do  have  sometimes  another  side, 
and  a  better  reason  for  their  adoption.  The  oriental  laborer 
has  been  so  poorly  paid  in  his  own  land,  as  already  said, 
that  he  has  been  forced  to  adopt  a  very  low  standard  of 


400  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

living.  He  comes  into  the  United  States  with  his  habits 
pretty  well  fixed,  and  is  disposed  to  live — as  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  live — in  somewhat  crowded  and  insanitary 
conditions.  This,  of  course,  is  not  true  of  well-to-do  orien¬ 
tals,  whose  homes  are  as  clean  and  attractive  as  those  of 
their  western  neighbors. 

Mention  of  the  low  standard  of  living  suggests  at  once 
the  economic  reason  for  exclusion.  It  is  the  menace  of 
cheap  labor,  which,  if  allowed  unrestricted  entrance  to 
our  country,  would  force  American  manual  laborers  to 
accept  wages  that  are  insufficient  for  the  maintenance  of 
an  American  standard  of  living. 

The  plants  which  we  cultivate  for  food  must  be  pro¬ 
tected  from  competition  with  the  wild,  or  uncultivated, 
plants  which  we  call  weeds.  The  more  highly  developed 
the  plant,  the  more  carefully  must  it  be  protected.  Other¬ 
wise  it  will  degenerate  and  return  toward  the  wild  state 
in  which  it  originated.  Only  as  a  wild  plant  can  it  enter 
into  a  struggle  with  wild  plants.  Now,  our  civilization  is 
a  highly  developed  and  delicate  plant,  which  cannot  enter 
into  unrestricted  competition  with  certain  other,  more 
hardy,  forms  of  civilization.  Eestrictive  legislation  is 
necessary  for  its  protection. 

Conditions  in  the  Orient  are  improving,  it  is  true,  and 
possibly  the  time  may  come  when  economic  conditions  East 
and  West  may  become  so  nearly  alike  as  to  require  no 
such  legislation.  That  condition,  however,  ought  to  be 
brought  about  by  a  leveling  up  in  the  Orient,  not  by  a 
leveling  down  in  the  West. 


LABOR  AND  WAGES  IN  THE  ORIENT 

The  hope  of  such  a  change  is  shown  in  the  modification 
of  conditions  now  going  on.  Contact  with  the  West  in 
the  open  cities  of  China  and  in  the  ports  of  Japan  has 
led  to  the  introduction  of  western  industrialism,  with  all 
its  evils  as  well  as  its  blessings.  Huge  factories  have  been 
built,  new  channels  for  labor  created,  and  a  consequent 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  401 

improvement  in  wages  brought  about.  This  has  been  ac¬ 
companied  by  a  partial  development  of  the  natural  re¬ 
sources  of  the  two  countries.  These  are  particularly  abun¬ 
dant  in  China.  This  alone  has  benefited  labor.  Where 
such  changes  are  going  on  the  standards  of  living  have 
risen. 

Wages  in  the  coast  cities  of  China  are  from  two  to  four 
times  what  they  were  thirty  years  ago,  although  they  are 
still  miserably  inadequate.  While  wages  have  increased 
the  cost  of  living  also  has  increased.  The  improvement, 
therefore,  is  not  so  great  as  appears  at  first  glance. 

Unskilled  labor,  which  in  1889  in  Nanking  earned  150 
brass  cash  a  day — at  that  time  the  equivalent  of  fourteen 
cents  in  silver — is  to-day  (1922)  paid  thirty  cents  in  silver 
(sixteen  cents  in  American  money).  But  the  150  cash  in 
1889  purchased  seven  and  one-half  pounds  of  rice,  and 
the  thirty  cents  in  1922  will  buy  thirteen  and  one-half 
pounds  of  rice.  This  means  that  wages  have  improved  in 
thirty-three  years  by  the  value  of  six  pounds  of  rice  per 
diem — a  gain  of  eighty  per  cent.  This  remarkable  improve¬ 
ment,  however,  was  due  in  large  measure  to  the  change 
which  in  thirty-three  years  came  to  Nanking.  In  1889 
Nanking  was  a  closed  city.  Western  influence  was  only 
beginning  to  penetrate.  To-day  it  is  an  open  port,  where 
the  new  industrial  system  is  already  established,  with  all 
the  changes  which  steam  and  electricity,  railways,  steam¬ 
ships,  and  factory  life  can  produce. 

If  accurate  statistics  for  such  a  port  as  Shanghai  were 
available  we  should  find  much  less  improvement,  for  Shang¬ 
hai  in  1889  had  already  been  an  open  port  for  46  years, 
and  was  paying  higher  wages  than  Nanking.  The  cost 
of  living  and  the  standard  of  living  were  also  higher  for 
the  laboring  man  than  at  Nanking.  The  improvement  in 
conditions  in  such  a  port  as  Shanghai  is  about  the  same 
as  has  taken  place  in  Japan,  where  the  level  of  wages  and 
conditions  of  labor  are  quite  similar. 

The  Great  World  War  brought  abnormal  prosperity  to 
Japan.  Official  statistics  show  that  in  thirty-three  gainful 
occupations  in  Japan  in  1917  the  index  number  of  wages 


402  Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration 

was  181.1,  the  wages  of  1900  being  taken  as  100.  But  dur¬ 
ing  that  same  period  the  advance  in  the  cost  of  living  was 
also  rapid.  The  index  number  for  rice  was  171,  and  the 
average  for  eight  staples  was  175.1.  This  would  indicate 
an  improvement  in  17  years  of  about  six  per  cent.  But 
from  an  American  standpoint  the  wages  are  still  pitifully 
small.  This  will  be  seen  when  they  are  given  in  terms 
of  American  dollars  and  cents.  In  1917  the  most  highly 
paid  artisans  in  Japan,  according  to  official  statistics,  were 
the  brick-layers,  who  were  receiving  $0.61  a  day.  The  next 
were  stone-cutters,  receiving  $0.55  a  day.  The  most  poorly 
paid  were  women  in  sericulture  and  those  engaged  in  farm 
labor — $0.17  a  day.  The  average  of  skilled  artisans  was 
$0.47,  and  the  average  in  thirty-three  occupations,  skilled 
and  unskilled,  was  $0.30.  The  condition  of  women  and 
children  employed  in  the  factories,  according  to  a  trust¬ 
worthy  American  observer,2  was  most  deplorable.  Factory 
life  in  China  appears  to  be  less  open  to  criticism  than  it 
is  in  Japan,  since  women  and  girls  in  Shanghai  do  not, 
as  a  rule,  live  in  the  factories,  but  return  to  their  homes 
in  the  evening. 

The  Japanese  themselves  realize  the  importance  of  pro¬ 
tecting  their  own  laborers  from  competition,  for  they  do 
not  permit  the  immigration  of  Chinese  manual  workers, 
since  that  would  intensify  the  struggle  for  existence.  Yet 
the  difference  between  wage  levels  in  the  two  countries 
is  negligible.  There  ought  not  then  to  be  any  objection 
upon  the  part  of  the  Japanese  Government  to  the  efforts 
of  the  United  States  to  protect  American  labor.  Japan, 
in  fact,  makes  no  objection,  and  for  that  reason  voluntarily 
refuses  passports  to  laborers.  But  Japan  does  not  want 
the  United  States  to  enact  a  law  excluding  Japanese  labor. 

Why  do  we  treat  China  in  one  way  and  Japan  in  an¬ 
other?  The  answer  is  simple;  Japan  has  grown  to  be  a 
mighty  military  power.  The  difference  in  our  treatment 
of  the  two  peoples  is  discreditable  to  us.  We  could  have 
excluded  Chinese  labor  without  mentioning  the  people  by 

2  “Modern  Japan,7’  by  Amos  S.  Hershev  and  Susanne  Hershey, 

pp.  161-168. 


Burlingame  and  Oriental  Immigration  403 


name,  and  thus  we  should  have  avoided  offending  their 
sensibilities. 

A  POSSIBLE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

The  treaty  obligations  created  by  Minister  Burlingame 
and  Secretary  Seward  were  the  obstacles  to  an  easy  solu¬ 
tion  of  the  problem  when  it  first  presented  itself.  Out  of 
this  complicated  situation  a  condition  has  arisen  which  is 
far  from  satisfactory.  Strict  justice  would  require  that 
the  law  of  exclusion  should  be  general,  shutting  out  all 
labor  immigration  from  whatever  region,  if  it  comes  from 
a  country  whose  wages  level  and  standard  of  living  for 
laborers  are  widely  different  from  those  of  our  own  land. 
Such  a  law  seems  to  be  impossible  of  enactment  at  present, 
and  we  have  in  recent  legislation  sought  an  amelioration 
of  the  general  problem  by  admitting  from  any  country 
in  any  one  year  a  number  not  greater  than  three  per  cent 
of  those  now  here  who  have  immigrated  from  such  country. 
This  legislation,  however,  leaves  unaffected  the  laws  exclud¬ 
ing  orientals  and  the  1 1  Gentleman ’s  Agreement.’ ’ 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  justice  would  seem  to  require 
two  things:  (1)  for  the  protection  of  our  own  people  a 
general  law  forbidding  all  oriental  labor  immigration ;  and 
(2)  for  the  welfare  of  the  orientals  who  are  now  lawfully 
here,  a  law  permitting  their  naturalization,  so  that  they 
may  be  absorbed  in  our  citizenship,  and  not  be  driven  to 
segregate  themselves,  as  they  do  now.  Their  present  treat¬ 
ment  forces  them  to  close  association  with  their  own  people, 
to  the  preservation  of  their  native  language  and  customs, 
and  the  training  of  their  children,  whom  we  call  Ameri¬ 
can  citizens,  to  a  foreign  allegiance.  The  policy  urged 
would  do  away  with  much  of  the  ill  feeling  which  now 
exists  on  both  sides,  and  would  promote  a  rapid  American¬ 
ization  of  the  orientals  now  here.  Naturalization  is  a 
matter  wholly  within  the  control  of  Congress,  so  that  the 
legislation  recommended  is  quite  within  the  bounds  of  the 
possible. 


CHAPTER  XX 


SPHERES  OF  INTEREST 

As  men  rejoice  when  they  divide  the  spoil. — Isaiah. 

The  essential  principle  of  peace  is  the  actual  equality  of  nations 
in  all  matters  of  right  or  privilege. — Woodrow  Wilson. 

In  1894  Japan  declared  war  upon  China.  The  excuse 
was  the  situation  in  Korea.  The  cause  was  probably  a 
complex  one.  First  there  was  the  desire  of  Ito  to  suppress 
the  liberal  agitation  that  was  disturbing  his  government 
at  home,  and  which  had  twice  in  five  months  led  to  a 
dissolution  of  parliament  and  a  new  election.  Foreign 
war  unites  the  factions  at  home;  that  is  a  commonplace 
of  political  philosophy.  Secondly,  there  was  perhaps  the 
desire  of  the  militarists  to  use  the  splendid  war  machine 
which,  with  the  aid  of  German  officers,  they  had  built  up, 
the  war  machine  that  was  to  prove  to  the  Western  world 
Japan’s  worthiness  to  stand  alongside  any  of  the  great 
powers — the  war  machine  that  was  to  convince  these  powers 
that  Japan  could  no  longer  be  treated  as  an  inferior  state, 
but  could  and  would  make  a  tariff  to  suit  herself — could 
and  would  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  strangers  within 
her  gates.  And  lastly  there  was  the  old,  old  cause,  the 
lust  for  power,  the  ambition  to  become  the  arbiter  of  affairs 
in  the  Orient,  the  desire,  too,  to  glorify  the  state  and  ex¬ 
tend  its  territorial  boundaries. 


KOREA’S  RELATIONSHIP  TO  CHINA 

Korea  seems  to  have  been  connected  with  China  since 
a  colonization  of  the  peninsula  by  Chinese  in  the  twelfth 

404 


Spheres  of  Interest 


405 


century  B.C.  Sometimes  it  had  been  a  tributary  state, 
sometimes  a  province  of  the  empire,  sometimes  a  vassal  in 
revolt,  but  it  had  never  been  tributary  to  Japan.  It  is 
separated  from  Japan  by  a  narrow  strait,  and  has  several 
times  tempted  Japanese  aggression.  Hideyoshi  tried  to 
subdue  it,  and  was  defeated  by  the  skillful  strategy  and 
superior  seamanship  of  a  Korean  admiral.1  The  relation 
of  Korea  to  China  puzzled  Western  diplomats.  "How,” 
they  asked,  "can  Korea  be  tributary  to  China,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  permitted  by  China  to  make  treaties  with 
foreign  powers  and  receive  foreign  envoys'?”  From  the 
oriental  viewpoint  there  was  no  inconsistency.  Mr.  Rock- 
hill  likened  the  relationship  to  that  sustained  by  a  younger 
to  an  elder  brother  in  a  Chinese  family.  He  is  independent 
in  the  management  of  most  affairs,  but  he  owes  a  certain 
reverence  to  his  elder  brother.2  When  asked  if  Korea  was 
free  to  enter  into  treaty  relations  with  other  powers  China 
replied  that  she  was.  In  fact,  the  Chinese  government 
urged  the  United  States  to  make  a  treaty  with  Korea,  and 
gave  assistance  to  that  end  in  1882. 

Yet  in  1887,  when  the  first  Korean  Minister  to  the 
United  States  was  about  to  present  his  credentials,  the 
Chinese  Minister  endeavored  to  prevent  such  action  except 
through  the  agency  of  the  Chinese  Legation.  This,  of 
course,  the  American  government  would  not  permit.  It 
was  this  anomalous  character  of  the  relationship  between 
China  and  Korea  that  made  easy  a  war  between  China  and 
Japan.  Japan  accepted  the  western  theory  and  practice 
in  international  relationship.  China  clung  to  her  belief 
that  Korea  was  a  vassal  state,  yet  free  to  please  herself 
in  her  foreign  intercourse.  We  seem  to-day  to  be  ap¬ 
proaching  the  Chinese  theory,  since  various  states  in  the 
British  Empire  are  insisting  upon  the  right  to  independent 
action  in  their  relations  with  their  neighbors,  while  at  the 
same  time  retaining  their  places  in  that  empire. 


1  See  1  ‘  The  Influence  of  the  Sea  on  the  Political  History  of 
Japan,’ ’  by  Admiral  Ballard,  pp.  44-67. 

2  China’s  Intercourse  with  Korea,  p.  3. 


406 


Spheres  of  Interest 


OUTBREAK  OF  WAR 

The  statement  made  by  some  writers  3  that  the  immedi¬ 
ate  cause  of  the  war  between  China  and  Japan  was  a 
breach  by  China  of  the  Tientsin  Treaty  of  1885  is  incorrect. 
Both  powers  had  agreed  in  that  treaty  not  to  send  troops 
into  Korea  without  first  giving  notice  one  to  another.  The 
King  of  Korea  appealed  to  China,  her  overlord,  for  assist¬ 
ance  in  suppressing  a  rebellion.  China  responded  by  send¬ 
ing  a  small  force,  but  first  notified  Japan  of  intention  to 
do  so.4  Japan,  although  uninvited,  also  sent  a  force — 
larger  than  that  of  China. 

China,  however,  in  notifying  Japan  of  her  intention  to 
send  assistance  to  Korea,  said :  ‘  ‘  Such  action  is  in  harmony 
with  our  constant  practice  to  protect  our  tributary  states.  ’ ’ 
To  this  Japan  replied  that  she  “had  never  recognized 
Korea  as  a  state  tributary  to  China.” 

Korea  in  the  meantime  had  put  down  the  rebellion  un¬ 
aided  by  either  China  or  Japan.  Japan  proposed  to  China 
that  they  should  together  reform  the  Korean  administra¬ 
tion.  China  declined  on  the  ground  that  she  did  not 
interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  her  vassal  states.  Japan 
then  gave  notice  that  she  would  undertake  the  task  alone. 
War  was  the  result.  Foreign  residents  of  China  and  Japan 
who  knew  the  real  character  of  the  two  armies  never  had 
the  slightest  doubt  about  the  outcome.  China,  a  huge 
empire  of  between  300  and  400  millions  of  people,  and 
covering  a  vast  continental  area,  formed  a  group  of  prov¬ 
inces  loosely  held  together  by  the  corrupt,  and  inefficient 
government  of  a  degenerate  foreign  dynasty.  The  people 
were  parochial  in  their  patriotism,  divided  by  dialects  and 
local  prejudices,  and  were  hindered  in  cooperation  by  lack 
of  railways  or  other  inland  communications.  The  Chinese 
army  existed  chiefly  on  paper  and,  except  for  Viceroy  Li’s 
army  in  the  north,  was  equipped  with  spears  and  muzzle¬ 
loading  muskets.  The  fleet  made  a  better  showing.  The 

3  McLaren ’s  “Political  History  of  Japan, ”  p.  230. 

4  Morse’s  “International  Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  Yol. 
Ill,  pp.  21,  22. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


407 


only  important  naval  engagement  resulted  in  the  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  Japanese.  But  the  ammunition  of  the 
Chinese  was  nearly  exhausted,  thanks  to  a  corrupt  govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  day  following  the  battle  they  sought  refuge 
at  Weihaiwei. 

Japan  was  a  small  nation  of  less  than  fifty  millions, 
occupying  a  compact  group  of  islands  ruled  by  a  virile  and 
progressive  government.  The  people  were  thoroughly 
patriotic  and  knit  together  in  their  devotion  to  the  Mikado. 
The  strife  of  political  partisanship  was  forgotten  in  the 
united  clamor  for  war.  The  army  and  navy  worked  to¬ 
gether  as  parts  of  one  well-oiled  machine.  Victory  perched 
upon  the  Japanese  banners  from  the  start.  China  was 
humiliated,  and  on  April  17,  1895,  agreed  in  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  to  recognize  the  complete  independence  of  Korea. 


MURDER  OF  KOREAN  QUEEN 

But  the  declaration  of  Korea’s  complete  independence 
and  autonomy  did  not  put  an  end  to  Japan’s  efforts  to 
reform  the  corrupt  administration  of  Korea.  There  were 
two  parties  there.  That  of  the  Queen,  who  was  a  much 
stronger  character  than  the  King,  was  opposed  to  Japanese 
tutelage.  Her  father-in-law,  who  had  once  been  Regent 
during  the  minority  of  his  son,  was  more  favorable  to 
Japan.  Moreover  he  disliked  his  daughter-in-law.  The 
Japanese  Minister  was  Viscount  Miura.  He  unfortunately 
allowed  himself  to  give  support  to  a  plot  for  the  removal 
of  the  Queen.  On  the  8th  of  October,  1895,  a  large  party 
of  Japanese  and  Koreans  surrounded  the  palace  of  the 
Queen,  forced  their  way  past  the  guards,  murdered  the 
Queen,  wrapped  her  body  in  a  blanket,  saturated  it  with 
kerosene  and  burned  it  in  the  court-yard.5  The  Japanese 
Minister  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  crime.  For  some  days 
the  report  of  the  murder  was  declared  to  be  false.  The 
Queen  was  said  to  be  alive  but  in  hiding.  The  pro-Japanese 
party  took  possession  of  the  Government,  but  public  opinion 

sHulbert’s  “Passing  of  Korea, ”  Chap.  IX,  p.  139. 


408 


Spheres  of  Interest 

demanded  an  investigation  of  the  crime.  The  evidence  of 
Miura’s  complicity  was  convincing.  He  was  recalled  by 
his  government  and  brought  to  trial.  The  court  found 
that  he  had  taken  part  in  planning  the  assassination  but 
that  there  was  no  evidence  of  his  participation  in  the 
murder.  As  a  representative  of  the  Japanese  Government 
he  could  not  well  be  punished  ;6  but  he  returned  to  private 
life.  While  Japan  could  not  well  punish  her  own  chosen 
representative,  however,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  good 
reason  for  rewarding  him,  unless  she  approved  of  his 
action.  Yet  when  the  horrified  world  had  forgotten  the 
murder,  the  Japanese  Government,  in  1910,  made  Miura 
a  Privy  Councillor,  an  exalted  post  which  he  still  retains 
(1922). 7 

The  terms  of  peace  between  China  and  Japan  included 
the  cession  of  Formosa,  the  Pescadores  and  the  southern 
part  of  Manchuria,  known  as  the  Liaotung  Peninsula, 
together  with  the  payment  of  an  indemnity  of  two  hundred 
million  taels. 

RUSSIA,  FRANCE  AND  GERMANY  INTERVENE 

Before  the  signature  of  the  treaty  the  Chinese  negotiator, 
Li  Hung-chang,  apparently  had  received  assurance  from 
Russia  that  any  cession  of  territory  on  the  mainland  would 
be  protested.  For  her  protest  she  probably  had  been 
promised  certain  compensation  by  China.  Russia  per¬ 
suaded  France  and  Germany  to  join  her  in  this  action, 
which,  in  May,  1895,  took  the  form  of  a  joint  note  recom¬ 
mending  Japan,  for  the  sake  of  the  peace  of  the  Far 
East,  to  restore  South  Manchuria  to  China.  Japan  had 
no  option  but  to  comply.  She  received  an  additional  thirty 
million  taels  for  the  retrocession,  but  the  offensive  advice 
of  the  three  powers  was  neither  forgotten  nor  forgiven. 
She  bided  her  time. 

Russia  received  compensation  the  following  year,  when, 

6  See  Mackenzie ’s  1 1  Tragedy  of  Korea,  ’ }  pp.  263-268.  Official 
report  of  the  trial. 

7  Japan  Year  Book,  1922. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


409 


at  the  coronation  of  the  Tsar,  the  Chinese  envoy,  Li  Hung- 
chang,  signed  an  agreement  permitting  Russia  to  build  the 
Chinese  Eastern  Railway,  an  extension  of  her  Trans- 
Siberian  Railway,  across  Northern  Manchuria  to  Vladi¬ 
vostok,  thus  avoiding  the  long  detour  around  the  bend  of 
the  Amur  River. 

Germany,  intent  on  getting  her  reward,  sent  a  fleet  to 
the  Far  East  in  1897,  which  examined  the  coast  of  China 
for  a  likely  port  whose  lease  she  could  ask  from  China  for 
a  naval  station.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  while  her 
fleet  was  thus  engaged,  some  brigands  in  Shantung  raided 
and  looted  a  village  in  the  south-western  part  of  that  prov¬ 
ince,  and  killed  a  number  of  people,  among  whom  were 
two  Germans.  This  gave  opportunity  for  a  more  dramatic 
presentation  of  Germany’s  claim.  A  portion  of  the  fleet 
rushed  to  the  Bay  of  Kiaochow,  landed  blue- jackets,  drove 
off  the  Chinese  troops  from  the  forts  at  Tsingtao,  and  seized 
that  little  fishing  village.  Demand  was  made  for  the  pun¬ 
ishment  of  the  murderers  and  for  compensation  to  the 
families  of  the  victims.  But  in  addition  the  Germans  asked 
for  the  removal  of  the  Governor  of  the  Province  who,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Chinese  theory,  was  responsible  for  good  order 
within  his  jurisdiction.  A  large  indemnity,  too,  was  de¬ 
manded  for  the  German  mission,  with  which  to  build  mis¬ 
sion  houses  and  churches. 

This  was  in  November,  1897.  Before  March,  1898, 
Germany  had  decided  to  demand  the  lease  of  the  Bay, 
having  in  the  meantime  obtained,  as  it  seems,  the  consent 
of  Russia,  who  in  the  secret  treaty  of  1896  had  been  prom¬ 
ised  a  lease  of  the  place.  The  lease  of  Kiaochow  Bay  for 
99  years  was  signed  on  March  6,  1898,  and  carried  with 
it  the  right  to  build  certain  railways,  to  work  mines  in 
a  specified  region,  and  an  option  on  all  public  works  in 
the  province  of  Shantung  requiring  foreign  capital  or 
skilled  labor. 

This  was  followed  immediately  by  a  demand  from  Russia 
for  corresponding  privileges  in  South  Manchuria.  A  con¬ 
vention,  signed  on  March  27,  1898,  granted  Russia  a  lease 
for  25  years  of  the  Kuantung  Peninsula,  which  is  the 


410 


Spheres  of  Interest 


southern  portion  of  that  territory  from  which  Russia  had 
just  forced  Japan.  With  this  lease  was  granted  the  right 
to  build  a  railway  to  connect  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny  (now 
Dairen)  with  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway.  Two  weeks 
later,  on  April  10th,  Prance  demanded  her  compensation — 
a  lease  for  99  years  of  the  bay  known  as  Kuangchou  Wan, 
on  the  southern  coast  of  China,  and  a  concession  for  a 
railway  from  Tongking  into  Yunnan.  The  lease  was  signed 
on  the  27th  of  May  following. 

The  growl  of  the  Russian  Bear  had  awakened  the  British 
Lion,  so  that  on  June  9th  and  July  1,  1898,  Great  Britain 
had  demanded  and  obtained  a  lease  of  the  hinterland  of 
Kowloon  opposite  Hongkong,  and  the  port  of  Weihaiwei  in 
Shantung  opposite  Port  Arthur,  which  had  just  been  leased 
to  Russia.  The  former  enlarged  Hongkong  colony  from 
29  to  405  square  miles;  the  latter  lease  was  to  terminate 
when  Russia  should  surrender  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny. 
There  was  a  lull  of  a  few  months,  but  in  March,  1899, 
Italy  demanded  the  lease  of  Sanmen  Bay,  in  Chekiang. 
This  demand  China  refused.  Instead  of  yielding  prepara¬ 
tions  were  made  for  war. 


SPHERES  OF  INTEREST 

Prior  to  the  signing  of  the  various  leases  mentioned, 
France  on  March  15,  1897,  had  asked  of  China  an  assurance 
that  the  Island  of  Hainan  would  never  be  alienated  or 
ceded  by  China  to  any  other  foreign  power.  China  replied 
that  she  had  no  intention  of  alienating  it  at  all. 

This  led,  on  February  11,  1898,  to  a  similar  exchange  of 
notes  between  Great  Britain  and  China  regarding  the  non¬ 
alienation  of  territory  in  the  Yangtze  Valley,  and  on 
April  4th  of  the  same  year,  to  a  request  from  France 
respecting  the  non-alienation  of  territory  in  the  three 
south-western  provinces  of  China.  On  the  26th  of  the  same 
month  Japan  and  China  exchanged  notes  concerning  alien¬ 
ation  of  territory  in  the  province  of  Fukien,  opposite 
Formosa.  In  the  following  year,  April  28,  1899,  Russia 


GATE  OF  RUSSIAN  LEGATION,  PEKING. 


EAST  GATE  OF  LEGATION  QUARTER,  PEKING 


Spheres  of  Interest 


411 


and  Great  Britain  entered  into  an  agreement  respecting 
their  spheres  of  interest  in  China.  Great  Britain  was  not 
to  seek  for  her  subjects  any  railway  concessions  north  of 
the  Great  Wall,  and  Russia  was  to  avoid  asking  for  rail¬ 
way  grants  in  the  Yangtze  Valley. 

Russia  two  months  later,  in  an  exchange  of  notes  with 
China,  secured  an  option  on  railway  construction  north¬ 
wards  or  north-eastwards  from  Peking,  provided  foreign 
capital  should  be  needed  for  the  building  of  such  lines. 

In  the  matter  of  the  notes  relating  to  non-alienation  of 
territory,  China  may  be  considered  as  having  made  a  dip¬ 
lomatic  blunder,  in  that  she  did  not  take  her  stand  firmly 
upon  her  sovereign  rights,  and  refuse  to  give  any  such 
assurances  as  were  asked  or  to  discuss  the  matter  at  all. 
In  her  reply  she  appears  to  have  tacitly  admitted  a  right 
on  the  part  of  the  powers  concerned  to  exact  pledges  from 
her.  In  this  subtle  way  the  several  powers  mentioned 
each  laid  the  basis  for  a  claim  to  a  sphere  of  interest  in 
China. 

The  Chinese  people  were  greatly  incensed  by  the  aggres¬ 
sive  policy  of  the  Western  powers  thus  indicated.  Sir 
Charles  Beresford  visited  China  during  the  period  in  which 
these  demands  were  made.  After  his  return  to  Europe 
he  published  a  volume  called  “The  Break-up  of  China/ ’ 
It  looked  indeed  for  a  time  as  though  the  old  empire  would 
fall  to  pieces.  The  Chinese  newspapers  were  filled  with  de¬ 
nunciation  of  the  Europeans,  who,  it  was  said,  were  about 
to  “Slice  China  as  a  ripe  melon.’ ’ 


THE  AMERICAN  ATTITUDE 

Apologists  for  Japan’s  action  at  the  Paris  Peace  Con¬ 
ference  regarding  Kiaochow  Leased  Territory  have  held 
that  the  American  people  were  inconsistent  in  opposing  the 
Shantung  clauses  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  since  they 
said  nothing  about  the  seizure  of  the  place  by  Germany, 
which  was  the  original  offense.  But  the  critics  forget  that 
before  the  news  of  Germany’s  lease  of  Kiaochow  was 


412 


Spheres  of  Interest 


made  known,  in  March,  1898,  the  United  States  was  in  a 
state  of  intense  excitement  over  the  destruction  of  the 
U.  S.  warship  Maine,  which  had  been  blown  up  in  the 
harbor  of  Havana  on  the  15th  of  February  preceding. 
The  people  were  clamoring  for  war  with  Spain,  which 
was  declared  shortly  afterwards,  and  in  view  of  that  ap¬ 
proaching  conflict  it  would  have  been  the  height  of  un¬ 
wisdom  to  have  incensed  the  German  Government  by 
protesting  its  actions  in  China. 

Nevertheless,  the  situation  was  one  that  was  not  over¬ 
looked  by  Secretary  Hay.  Not  long  after  the  treaty  of 
peace  with  Spain  was  ratified,  the  Secretary,  in  September, 
1899,  addressed  a  note  to  each  of  the  powers  concerned 
in  the  leases  of  Chinese  territory,  and  in  the  establish¬ 
ment  in  that  country  of  spheres  of  interest.  In  these  notes 
he  asked  the  adherence  of  these  governments  to  a  policy 
of  equality  of  treatment  for  the  commerce  and  navigation 
of  all  nations,  in  such  leased  territories  and  spheres  of 
interest.  This  policy  has  been  termed  the  policy  of  the 
Open  Door. 

What  Secretary  Hay  asked  specifically  was: 

First  (that  each  of  the  interested  powers)  Will  in  no  way 
interfere  with  any  treaty  port  or  any  vested  interest  within  any 
so-called  “Sphere  of  interest”  or  leased  territory  it  may  have  in 
China. 

Second,  That  the  Chinese  tariff  of  the  time  being  shall  apply 
to  all  merchandise  landed  or  shipped  to  all  such  ports  as  are 
within  said  “sphere  of  interest”  (unless  they  be  free  ports),  no 
matter  to  what  nationality  it  may  belong,  and  that  duties  so 
levied  shall  be  collected  by  the  Chinese  Government. 

Third,  That  it  will  levy  no  higher  harbor  dues  on  vessels  of 
another  nationality  frequenting  any  port  in  such  “sphere”  than 
shall  be  levied  on  vessels  of  its  own  nationality,  and  no  higher 
railroad  charges  over  lines  built,  controlled  or  operated  within 
its  “sphere”  on  merchandise  belonging  to  citizens  or  subjects  of 
other  nationalities  transported  through  such  “sphere”  than  shall 
be  levied  on  similar  merchandise  belonging  to  its  own  nationals 
transported  over  equal  distances. 

The  governments  addressed  were  those  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  Kussia  and  Japan.  All  declared 


Spheres  of  Interest 


413 


their  adherence  to  the  policy  thus  outlined.  There  are  two 
things  to  be  particularly  remembered  with  respect  to  Sec¬ 
retary  Hay’s  note:  (1)  It  recognizes  the  existence  of 
“spheres  of  interest”  in  China,  although  the  phrase  is  put 
within  quotation  points.  It  does  not  protest  against  the 
claims  to  such  “spheres,”  nor  against  the  methods  by 
which  the  leases  of  territory  were  obtained.  It  accepts  a 
situation  which  seemed  to  him  already  existing.  (2)  No 
account  was  taken,  in  the  correspondence,  of  China’s  feel¬ 
ings  or  desires  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of  ‘  ‘  so-called 
spheres  of  interest,”  neither  was  China  asked  to  pledge 
herself  to  maintain  an  open  door  policy.  The  Chinese 
government  seems  to  have  been  treated  as  negligible.  Per¬ 
haps  this  was  due  to  the  feeling  then  prevailing  through¬ 
out  the  western  wmrld  that  China  was  about  to  break  to 
pieces.  The  Secretary  was  interested  chiefly  in  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  American  commerce,  and  sought  to  prevent  the 
erection  of  tariff  barriers  in  the  “spheres  of  influence” 
less  favorable  to  American  trade  than  the  existing  Chinese 
treaty  tariff. 

His  recognition  of  the  spheres  of  interest  was  made  still 
more  evident  when,  in  1900,  the  American  navy  desired 
to  lease  a  coaling  station  in  the  Samsah  Inlet,  in  Fukien, 
within  the  sphere  of  interest  claimed  by  Japan.  Before 
mentioning  the  desire  to  China,  he  instructed  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Minister  in  Japan  to  ascertain  whether  the  Japanese 
Government  would  make  objection  to  the  negotiation  with 
China  of  such  a  lease.  To  this  the  Japanese  Government, 
on  December  10,  1900,  replied  declining  to  accede  to  the 
proposal.  This  action  of  Secretary  Hay,  moreover,  was 
taken  after  the  Boxer  rising  had  shown  how  China  viewed 
the  whole  policy  of  “spheres  of  interest.” 


THE  BOXER  RISING 

It  is  sometimes  stated  incorrectly  that  the  seizure  by 
the  Germans  of  Kiaochow  Bay,  which  led  to  the  policy  of 
spheres  of  interest,  was  an  act  of  reprisal  for  an  attack 


414 


Spheres  of  Interest 


by  Boxers  upon  foreign  missionaries,  in  other  words  that 
it  was  a  punishment  of  China  for  tolerating  Boxerism. 
This  is  an  exact  reversal  of  the  facts  regarding  the  rise 
of  the  Boxers.  It  was  the  seizure  of  Kiaochow  and  the 
leases  of  other  ports  that  followed,  together  with  the 
declaration  of  spheres  of  interest,  that  caused  the  Boxer 
rising.  The  murder  of  two  German  missionaries  was  a 
crime  committed  by  ordinary  brigands,  of  whom  there  are 
plenty  at  all  times  in  China.  It  was  not  the  result  of 
any  anti-foreign  or  anti-Christian  movement.  A  whole 
village  was  attacked.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  that  they  were  staying  there  when  the  attack 
occurred.  The  murder  of  aliens  has  sometimes  happened 
in  our  own  land,  yet  no  demand  for  the  lease  of  a  bay, 
the  removal  of  a  governor  of  a  state,  or  the  grant  of  rail¬ 
way  and  mining  concessions  in  reprisal  has  ever  been  made 
by  the  government  of  the  nation  to  which  such  aliens  have 
belonged.  It  was  the  weakness  of  China  that  made  possible 
such  aggression  there. 

The  first  effect  of  the  forced  leases  of  territory  to  Eu¬ 
ropean  powers,  and  their  claims  to  various  spheres  of 
interest  in  China,  was  an  earnest  attempt  by  the  liberal 
minded  Chinese  to  bring  about  a  reform  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  The  young  Emperor,  Kuanghsii,  had  taken  the 
reins  into  his  own  hands  in  1889.  One  of  his  tutors,  Wen 
Tun-ho,  was  known  as  a  progressive  man,  and  the  Emperor, 
although  a  weakling,  was  disposed  to  follow  his  tutor’s 
advice.  There  were  three  men  whose  writings  had  great 
influence  upon  the  mind  of  the  sovereign.  Chang  Chih- 
tung,  the  Viceroy  at  Hankow,  a  liberal  conservative,  had 
published  at  the  close  of  the  Japanese  war  a  small  volume 
called  “Learn,”  in  which  he  urged  the  introduction  of 
Western  education,  which  he  recognized  as  the  source  of 
Western  power,  and  which,  with  Western  industries  and 
Western  military  organization,  had  given  Japan  the  vic¬ 
tory.  Western  religion  he  held  to  be  unnecessary  to  China, 
and  republicanism  he  regarded  as  dangerous. 

The  second  writer  was  K’ang  Yu-wei,  a  brilliant 
scholar  but  inexperienced  in  statecraft.  He  was  an  en- 


Spheres  of  Interest 


415 


thusiast  who,  on  being  recommended  to  the  Emperor  by 
his  tutor,  was  called  to  Court,  and  for  three  months  dazed 
the  empire  by  a  rapid  succession  of  edicts  which  the  young 
Emperor  was  induced  to  issue,  and  which  aimed  at  the 
immediate  transformation  of  China.  The  educational 
system  was  to  be  changed.  The  army  was  to  be  reorgan¬ 
ized.  Railways  were  to  be  built  and  mines  to  be  opened. 
Useless  offices  were  abolished  and  ultra-conservative  of¬ 
ficials  were  cashiered.  Every  one  of  the  proposed  changes 
was  practicable  and  looked  toward  the  modernization  of 
the  state,  but  the  pace  was  too  swift  and  the  method  em¬ 
ployed  lacked  tact.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  woman  who 
halted  the  course  of  reform  and  turned  back  the  tide  of 
progress,  was  herself  four  years  later  issuing  decrees  of 
exactly  the  same  tenor,  in  a  vain  effort  to  save  the  falling 
dynasty. 

The  third  man  to  whom  I  have  referred  was  Liang  Ch’i- 
ch’ao,  the  foremost  scholar  of  China  to-day,  still  laboring 
for  the  welfare  of  his  country.  In  1898  he  was  editing  a 
newspaper  whose  brilliant  style  and  trenchant  criticisms 
gave  it  a  remarkably  large  circulation  and  great  influence. 
It  was  the  organ  of  the  reformers.  But  there  were  two 
parties  at  Court,  one  composed  largely  of  young  men 
devoted  to  the  Emperor,  the  other  made  up  of  older  and 
more  experienced  men  who  supported  the  Empress  Dow¬ 
ager.  The  Manchu  Princes  very  generally  sided  with  the 
Dowager,  and  were  opposed  to  any  movement  that  seemed 
to  threaten  their  prerogatives,  but  there  were  a  few  pro¬ 
gressive  men  among  them. 

Suddenly  in  1898,  on  the  morning  of  the  autumnal  sac¬ 
rifice  to  Confucius,  the  officials  leaving  the  sacred  courts 
to  return  to  their  homes  were  startled  by  the  report  of 
a  coup-d’etat  at  Peking. 

In  1903  I  was  a  guest  at  a  birthday  entertainment  given 
by  His  Excellency  Hu  Yii-fen,  a  Cabinet  Minister.  The 
principal  court  of  his  palace  had  been  converted  into  a 
theatre,  and  a  famous  troupe  of  players  had  been  brought 
from  Shanghai  to  entertain  the  guests.  As  I  sat  watching 
the  play  Mr.  Hu  seated  himself  beside  me  and  asked  if 


t 


416 


Spheres  of  Interest 


I  knew  who  the  actors  were.  I  answered  that  I  did  not. 
He  then  said:  “ These  are  the  players  who  smuggled 
Liang  Ch’i-ch’ao  and  T’an  Tzu-t’ung  into  the  palace  of 
the  Emperor  five  years  ago.”  The  story  has  been  told 
in  various  forms.  As  gathered  from  various  sources  it 
seems  to  be  as  follows: 

The  Shanghai  company,  playing  in  Peking,  received 
an  invitation  to  play  in  the  palace.  They  went,  of  course, 
and  filled  an  engagement  lasting  several  days.  They  went 
in  and  out  the  gates  of  the  Forbidden  City,  repeatedly 
passing  from  their  inn  to  the  Court  theatre  and  back 
again.  The  young  reformers  had  some  important  mes¬ 
sage  to  convey  to  the  Emperor.  They  were  allowed  to 
join  the  company  and  so  pass  in  unobserved.  The  young 
Emperor  between  the  acts  was  accustomed  to  visiting  the 
green  room,  and  thus  came  into  conversation  with  the  two 
messengers.  It  was  probably  the  rumor  of  the  coup-d’etat 
that  was  being  planned  by  the  party  of  the  Empress 
Dowager  that  disturbed  them,  and  apparently  they  sug¬ 
gested  the  course  to  be  taken,  which  was  to  anticipate  the 
action  of  the  conservatives  and  strike  first.  At  a  subse¬ 
quent  meeting  one  night  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  was  summoned 
from  Tientsin.  He  was  known  to  be  a  liberal  and,  it 
was  presumed,  would  support  the  Emperor.  According 
to  the  account  given  me  he  was  commanded  by  the  Emperor 
to  arrest  and  execute  Jung-lu,  the  commander  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  army  of  the  empire,  with  headquarters  at  Tientsin, 
and  bring  that  force  to  Peking  to  surround  the  palace 
of  the  Empress  Dowager  so  as  to  prevent  her  interference 
with  the  government.  Jung-lu  was  a  childhood  playmate 
of  the  Empress  Dowager,  and  was  the  young  officer  of  the 
Banner  Corps  who  had  saved  her  from  assassination  at 
the  hands  of  court  intriguers  when  she  was  returning  from 
Jehol  after  her  husband,  the  Emperor  Hsienfeng,  had  died 
there  in  1861.  Jung-lu  was  a  staunch  friend  of  Her 
Majesty,  and  there  was  no  way  of  getting  the  army  for 
the  protection  of  the  Emperor  except  by  his  removal. 
Yuan,  too,  was  the  man  chiefly  responsible  for  the  reor- 


Spheres  of  Interest 


417 


ganization  and  general  improvement  of  the  army  that  was 
in  progress,  and  was  the  very  man  therefore  to  head  the 
troops. 

But,  unknown  to  the  Emperor,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  and 
Jung-lu  were  sworn  brothers;  that  is  to  say,  they  had 
entered  into  a  blood  covenant  and  were  bound  by  a  solemn 
oath  to  protect  one  another.  Yuan  listened  to  the  orders 
of  His  Majesty  and  dissembled  his  real  feelings.  He  ap¬ 
peared  to  fall  in  with  the  plot,  but  early  the  following 
morning,  instead  of  waiting  for  the  imperial  warrant  and 
the  green  arrow,  which  gave  its  possessor  the  power  of 
life  and  death,  he  hurriedly  left  the  city  and  returned  to 
Tientsin.  When  a  court  officer  arrived  at  his  quarters 
with  the  Emperor’s  command  he  was  not  to  be  found.  The 
Emperor  then  sent  for  T’an  and  gave  to  him  the  death 
warrant,  written  on  yellow  satin,  and  the  green  arrow, 
and  directed  him  to  go  at  once  to  Tientsin  and  find  Yuan. 
If  Yuan  should  refuse  to  carry  out  the  orders  then  T’an 
was  to  execute  them.  “On  no  account  lose  sight  of  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai,”  was  the  last  warning  word  of  the  Emperor. 
T’an  went  to  Tientsin,  found  Yuan  and  delivered  the  mes¬ 
sage.  “Very  well,”  said  Yuan,  “let  us  go  to  Jung-lu ’s 
yamen. ”  On  reaching  the  gate  Yuan  told  T’an  to  wait 
there,  lest,  while  he  went  in  one  way,  Jung-lu  should  come 
out  by  another.  When  Yuan  saw  Jung-lu  he  showed  him 
the  warrant  and  the  green  arrow,  but  was  true  to  his 
oath.  He  allowed  Jung-lu  to  get  out  by  the  back  door, 
and  spent  some  time  in  the  yamen  keeping  T’an  waiting. 
Jung-lu  obtained  a  locomotive  and  car  and  rushed  to 
Peking,  then  to  the  palace  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  where, 
falling  upon  his  knees  in  the  doorway,  he  shouted:  “Chiu 
ming,  Chiu  ming”  (Save  life,  save  life!)  The  Dowager 
appeared,  asked  the  cause  of  the  outcry  and,  upon  learn¬ 
ing  of  the  plot,  sent  for  the  Emperor.  “Boy,”  said  she, 
“what  is  the  meaning  of  this?”  Then,  snatching  the 
seals  away  from  him,  she  had  him  carried  off  to  an  island 
in  the  Western  Park,  where  he  was  confined  until  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  Peking  by  the  allied  forces  in  1900.  The  next 


/ 


418 


Spheres  of  Interest 


day  after  his  incarceration  he  was  forced  to  sign  a  decree 
declaring  that  he  was  too  ill  to  rule,  and  begging  the 
Empress  Dowager  to  resume  the  regency. 

In  the  meantime  T’an,  at  the  gate  of  Jung-lu’s  yamen, 
waited  for  sometime  for  Yuan  to  appear.  Then  he  re¬ 
membered  the  Emperor’s  parting  warning.  It  was  too 
late.  As  he  sought  to  enter  the  courtyard  he  met  Yuan 
coming  out.  The  latter  said:  “Jung-lu  is  not  in  his 
yamen;  I  have  looked  everywhere  for  him.”  T’an  knew 
that  he  had  been  betrayed.  He  hurried  over  to  the  British 
settlement  and  explained  the  situation  to  K’ang  Yu-wei 
and  Liang  Ch’i-ch’ao,  who  were  staying  there.  They 
begged  him  to  accompany  them  as  they  boarded  the  China 
Merchants’  Steamer  Anping  for  Shanghai.  T’an  refused, 
saying  that  he  had  disobeyed  the  Emperor  and  would 
return  to  Peking.  He  was  a  highly  educated  young  man, 
son  of  the  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Hupei;  but  that 
did  not  save  him.  The  next  morning  he  and  ten  other 
young  reformers  were  beheaded  in  the  Vegetable  Market 
Place  of  Peking — the  common  execution  ground. 

Friends  in  Tientsin  telegraphed  to  Shanghai  that  the 
reform  leaders,  K  ’ang  and  Liang,  were  on  a  steamer  bound 
for  that  port.  The  news  of  the  coup  at  Peking,  too,  was 
spread  abroad,  and  the  reactionaries  at  the  Capital  sent 
orders  to  the  Taotai  at  Shanghai  to  arrest  the  reformers 
upon  their  arrival.  The  steamer  would  land  at  the  Chinese 
wharf,  and  the  native  police  were  in  waiting  there. 

At  the  time  I  was  serving  as  Vice  Consul  General  at 
Shanghai.  There  was  great  excitement  in  the  settlement. 
The  British  Consul  General  obtained  a  launch  and  went 
down  the  river  to  meet  the  incoming  steamer.  At  Woosung 
he  halted  the  vessel,  which  had  a  European  as  captain, 
and  was  received  on  board.  He  urged  the  two  fugitives 
to  accompany  him,  which  they  did.  Then,  ordering  the 
launch  to  cross  the  river  to  the  P.  &  0.  steamer  lying 
there,  he  put  them  on  board  and  they  escaped  to  Hongkong. 

This  failure  of  the  reform  movement  drove  many  to 
join  the  secret  societies  that  were  conspiring  for  the  over- 


Spheres  of  Interest 


419 


throw  of  the  dynasty.  China  is  the  paradise  of  secret 
societies.  One  of  them  was  the  I  Ho  Tuan,  or  I  ho  Ch’uan. 
It  was  known  by  both  names.  The  former  means  “The 
Patriotic  United  Trainband’’;  the  latter  is  “The  Patriotic 
United  Fists.”  In  both  names  the  purpose  of  the  society 
is  evident.  It  was  a  patriotic  union  for  the  defense  of 
the  State;  but  the  use  of  the  word  “Fist,”  and  the  pecul¬ 
iar  calisthenic  exercises  in  which  the  members  indulged, 
led  the  first  translators  of  the  term  to  call  it  a  society 
of  boxers.  But  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  boxing. 

The  aim  of  the  society,  when  originally  established,  was 
the  overthrow  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty,  which  the  people 
held  responsible  for  the  misfortune  which  had  fallen  upon 
the  country,  particularly  the  aggressions  of  Western 
powers.  The  earliest  placards  put  out  by  them  show  this 
beyond  all  question. 

But  the  Empress  Dowager  and  her  reactionary  sup¬ 
porters  were  shrewd  enough  to  convince  the  leaders,  either 
by  bribery  or  otherwise,  that  the  foreigners  were  to  blame, 
and  thus  persuade  them  to  turn  their  weapons  against 
the  hated  intruders. 

The  Boxers  met  usually  in  Buddhist  temples.  There 
they  were  trained  in  the  performance  of  certain  physical 
and  spiritual  exercises  that  were  to  work  enchantment  and 
make  them  immune  to  foreign  bullets.  Strict  observance 
of  the  prescribed  regime  was  necessary.  Any  neglect 
would  break  the  charm.  If  any  fell  in  battle  that  would 
be  proof  of  his  sin. 

By  such  training  as  this  a  wonderful  morale  was  de¬ 
veloped.  Many  were  duped  into  the  belief  that  by  these 
arts  they  were  made  bullet-proof.  The  Empress  Dowager, 
herself,  appears  to  have  believed  that  such  a  force  was 
invulnerable  and  would  be  able  to  drive  the  foreigners 
into  the  sea.  She  had  been  taught  that  all  these  foreigners 
were  barbarians,  coming  from  small  islands  in  the  sea, 
and  that  they  could  easily  be  overwhelmed  and  expelled 
from  the  country.  Her  best  advisers  knew  that  this  belief 
was  unfounded,  and  deplored  the  folly  of  engaging  in  a 


420 


Spheres  of  Interest 


war  upon  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  this  advice  was  thrust 
aside  for  that  of  ignorant  princes,  superstition  mongers 
and  fakirs. 

Following  upon  the  seizure  of  Kiaochow  by  the  Germans, 
and  the  demands  of  various  powers  for  leases  and  spheres 
of  interest,  there  came  through  1898  a  series  of  anti-foreign 
outbreaks  in  all  parts  of  China,  and  rebellion  against  the 
dynasty  in  the  south  and  west.  In  the  autumn  several 
of  the  powers  sent  guards  to  Peking  to  protect  their  lega¬ 
tions.  They  remained  through  the  winter,  when  Peking 
was  almost  inaccessible,  and  were  sent  away  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  spring.  But  in  1899  the  disorders  continued  through¬ 
out  the  whole  empire,  taking  more  and  more  the  form  of 
an  anti-foreign,  rather  than  anti-dynastic,  movement.  The 
demands  of  Italy,  backed  by  war-ships  and  the  support 
of  Great  Britain,  Germany  and  France,8  and  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  German  plans  in  Shantung,  led  to  troop  concentra¬ 
tions  by  China  and  a  spasmodic  effort  to  raise  additional 
revenues  for  the  war  chest.  The  feeling  in  Shantung  was 
especially  bitter.  The  murder  of  a  British  missionary 
there  in  December  brought  about  the  removal  of  the  Gov¬ 
ernor,  Yii-hsien,  and  the  appointment  of  Yuan  Shih-K’ai 
in  his  stead.  This  was  a  fortunate  change  for  Shantung, 
but  Yii-hsien  was  received  with  honor  by  the  Empress 
Dowager  and  given  the  Governorship  of  Shansi,  where  by 
his  orders  in  1900  fifty-four  missionaries  were  put  to  death 
in  his  yamen. 

From  September,  1899,  onwards  the  aims  of  the  Boxers 
appear  to  have  been  consistently  anti-foreign.  Their  at¬ 
tacks  were  directed  against  foreigners  of  all  nationalities, 
and  against  Chinese  Christians  and  all  Chinese  who  sym¬ 
pathized  with  Europeans  or  favored  the  use  of  European 
inventions  or  any  goods  of  foreign  origin.  Such  Chinese 
were  stigmatized  as  “Secondary  devils.”  In  May,  1900, 
legation  guards  were  again  sent  to  Peking.  This  small 
force  of  458  officers  and  men,  aided  by  75  volunteers  from 
the  legations  and  missions  and  a  few  armed  Chinese  con- 

8  Morse ’s  International  Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  Vol.  III. 
p.  124. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


421 


verts,  held  the  legations  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  Peking 
and  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  premises  in  the  north¬ 
western  part,  through  a  siege  of  55  days,  during  most  of 
which  period  they  were  under  rifle  and  shell  fire.  They 
were  thus  instrumental  in  saving  the  lives  of  a  thousand 
foreigners  and  three  thousand  Chinese  Christians. 

Communication  with  Peking  was  broken  on  June  10, 
1900.  The  same  day  Admiral  Seymour,  with  detachments 
from  the  British,  American,  German  and  other  war-ships 
numbering  a  little  more  than  2000  men,  started  from  Tien¬ 
tsin  for  Peking  to  rescue  the  legations.  They  crossed  the 
river  at  Yangtsun  unopposed  by  the  Chinese  troops  there, 
who  numbered  4000  and  who  were  decidedly  friendly.  As 
yet  the  Government  was  not  openly  supporting  the  anti- 
foreign  movement.  But  as  fast  as  Seymour’s  force  ad¬ 
vanced  Boxers  tore  up  the  railway  track  before  him  and 
behind  him.  They  showed  wonderful  courage,  these  fa¬ 
natical  bands,  marching  up  against  machine  guns  in  the 
belief  that  they  could  not  be  killed. 

Admiral  Seymour  never  reached  Peking.  He  had  to 
build  a  railway  as  he  advanced,  and  the  number  of  wounded 
daily  increased.  On  June  16th  he  was  compelled  to  turn 
back  to  Tientsin,  repairing  the  railway  as  he  retreated. 
In  the  meantime  the  Admirals  at  Taku  decided  to  take 
the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hai  Ho.  The  demand  on 
June  16th  for  their  surrender  was  resisted  by  the  Chinese, 
and  they  were  captured  on  the  morning  of  the  17th.  The 
American  Admiral  refused  to  take  part  in  this  attack, 
holding  that  the  United  States  was  not  at  war  with  China 
and  that  such  action  would  endanger  the  lives  of  the 
foreigners  in  the  interior  and  cause  a  union  of  Chinese 
forces  against  Seymour’s  column. 

In  this  attitude  he  was  supported  by  the  American  Gov¬ 
ernment.  His  judgment  seems  to  have  been  confirmed 
by  the  result,  for  immediately  the  Chinese  declared  war 
on  the  foreigners,  and  Seymour’s  little  column  was  har¬ 
assed,  not  only  by  Boxers,  but  by  regular  troops.  The 
Legations,  too,  were  on  June  19th,  given  twenty-four  hours 
in  which  to  leave  the  city,  which  it  was  impossible  for  them 


422 


Spheres  of  Interest 


to  do  under  the  circumstances.  Baron  von  Kettler,  the 
German  Minister,  was  killed  on  the  20th,  on  his  way  to 
the  Foreign  Office,  and  on  June  24th,  the  Empress  Dow¬ 
ager  issued  a  barbarous  decree  for  the  extermination  of 
the  foreigners  wherever  found.  The  Viceroys  of  the 
southern  and  central  provinces  refused  to  execute  this 
foolish  and  wicked  decree.  They  were  joined  by  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai,  Governor  of  Shantung,  and  by  Tuan-fang, 
Acting  Governor  of  Shensi.  The  latter  sent  the  mission¬ 
aries  in  his  province  under  guard  to  Hankow.  Jung-lu, 
the  close  friend  of  the  Dowager  Empress  and  once  her 
most  trusted  adviser,  in  vain  tried  to  stem  the  tide  of 
folly.  He  informed  the  Viceroys  in  the  south  of  the  real 
situation.  Thus  all  China,  save  three  provinces,  withdrew 
support  from  Peking. 

This  attitude  of  Jung-lu  was  not  understood  at  the  time 
by  the  Europeans  in  China.  They  knew  him  simply  as 
the  friend  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  and  clamored  for 
his  head  when  peace  negotiations  were  begun,  but  better 
counsels  prevailed.  He  called  at  the  American  Legation 
after  peace  was  restored,  and  told  us  that  we  should  one 
day  learn  that  he  had  opposed  the  war  and  had  done  what 
he  could  to  save  foreigners  from  attack.  This  now  we 
know  to  be  the  truth. 

There  are  five  other  names  that  deserve  to  be  held  in 
honor  by  Americans  and  Europeans.  Yuan-chang  and 
Hsu  Ching-cheng,  in  telegraphing  the  decree  of  June  24th 
which  ordered  the  extermination  of  foreigners,  had  delib¬ 
erately  altered  the  word  “slay”  to  “protect,”  and  were 
sawn  asunder  in  punishment  of  their  daring  disobedience. 
The  son  of  the  former  told  me  the  story  of  his  father’s 
martyrdom.  Three  other  heroes  were  Li-shan,  Lien-yuan, 
and  Hsli  Jung-i,  who  were  put  to  death  for  opposing  the 
declaration  of  war.  Well  does  Kipling  say: 

Not  in  the  camp  his  victory  lies, 

Nor  triumph  in  the  market  place, 

Who  is  his  nation’s  sacrifice 

To  turn  the  judgment  from  his  race. 

Such  courageous  characters  as  these,  and  the  endurance 


Spheres  of  Interest 


423 


of  thousands  of  Chinese  Christians  who  refused  to  recant 
in  the  presence  of  death  and  who  sealed  their  faith  with 
their  blood,  give  us  a  better  understanding  of  the  Chinese 
than  the  cruel  decrees  of  a  selfish  ruler  or  the  barbarity 
of  a  frenzied  mob. 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS 

The  summer  of  1900  had  harvested  the  sowing  of  1898 
and  ’99.  The  policy  of  spheres  of  interest  had  been  met 
b;y  the  folly  of  Boxerism  and  the  awful  massacres  per¬ 
petrated  in  Chihli,  Shansi  and  Honan. 

Secretary  Hay  comprehended  the  situation  as  apparently 
he  had  not  understood  it  in  1899.  Before  the  relieving 
force  had  captured  Tientsin  or  started  thence  for  Peking 
he  seems  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  two  courses;  first, 
to  refuse  to  hold  the  Chinese  people  responsible  for  the 
wickedness  of  the  Peking  Court,  and,  secondly,  to  temper 
as  far  as  possible  the  demands  that  would  be  made  by  an 
outraged  world  for  reprisals. 

It  was  well-known  that  the  Emperor,  the  legitimate 
ruler  of  China,  had  had  no  sympathy  with  the  reactionary 
movement  headed  by  the  Empress  Dowager,  and  the  con¬ 
sistent  attitude  of  the  American  Department  of  State  was 
that  the  Chinese  Government  had  been  temporarily  over¬ 
powered  by  the  Boxer  element. 

In  reply  to  a  telegram  from  the  French  Government 
dated  July  2d,  proposing  that  the  powers  should  agree 
to  maintain  the  territorial  status  quo  in  China,  Secretary 
Hay  replied  in  a  circular  communication  to  the  seven  prin¬ 
cipal  powers,  declaring  the  policy  of  the  United  States. 
This,  he  said,  ‘  ‘  is  to  seek  a  solution  which  may  bring  about 
permanent  safety  and  peace  to  China,  preserve  Chinese 
territorial  and  administrative  entity,  protect  all  rights 
guaranteed  to  friendly  powers  by  treaty  and  international 
law,  and  safe  guard  for  the  world  the  principle  of  equal 
and  impartial  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  Chinese  Empire.” 
The  powers  addressed  agreed  in  this  declaration  of  policy. 


/ 


424 


Spheres  of  Interest 


By  this  the  Open  Door  came  to  mean  much  more  than 
equality  of  opportunity  in  certain  spheres  of  interest.  Its 
scope  was  enlarged  and  included  pledges  to  abstain  from 
seizure  of  Chinese  territory  and  from  interference  with 
Chinese  administration. 

The  American  Minister,  Mr.  Conger,  who  had  shared 
with  other  Ministers  and  with  the  military  commanders 
the  anxiety  and  responsibility  of  protecting  the  foreign 
community  in  Peking  during  the  siege,  was  given  leave 
of  absence  for  a  few  months,  and  Mr.  Rockhill  was  sent 
out  as  a  special  commissioner  to  represent  the  United 
States  in  the  peace  negotiations.  He  knew  China,  and 
appreciated  the  many  good  qualities  of  Chinese  character. 
He  was  well  qualified,  therefore,  to  carry  out  the  moderat¬ 
ing  policy  which  Secretary  Hay  desired  to  have  adopted. 
I-Iis  influence  throughout  the  negotiations  was  exercised 
in  behalf  of  clemency,  the  reduction  as  far  as  possible 
of  demands  for  death  sentences,  and  the  lightening  of  the 
burden  of  punitive  indemnities  to  be  put  upon  China. 
But  even  after  the  powers  had  been  induced  to  agree 
upon  a  lump  sum  to  be  divided  among  themselves,  it  still 
remained  so  large  as  to  create  financial  difficulties  for  the 
Chinese  Government  and  hinder  the  execution  of  the  re¬ 
forms  so  greatly  needed. 

The  settlement  of  the  Boxer  troubles  by  the  protocol 
of  1901  was  nevertheless  a  lenient  one  for  China.  It  gave 
the  old  empire  a  new  lease  of  life,  and  the  pledges  of 
the  powers  to  respect  its  territorial  integrity  and  avoid 
interference  with  its  administration  would,  it  was  hoped, 
prevent  further  foreign  aggression. 


ADHERENTS  OF  THE  OPEN  DOOR  POLICY 

Spheres  of  interest,  however,  still  remained.  As  we  have 
seen,  in  the  December  following  Secretary  Hay’s  note  of 
July  3,  1900,  he  had  recognized  Japan’s  sphere  of  inter¬ 
est  in  Fukien,  when  approaching  that  power  in  regard 
to  the  lease  of  a  bay  on  China’s  coast  for  a  coaling  station. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


425 


But  it  follows  that  in  so  doing  he  could  not  have  recog¬ 
nized  any  right  in  the  possession  of  Japan  inconsistent 
with  the  pledges  just  given  “to  respect  China’s  territorial 
integrity  and  administrative  entity.” 

The  principle  of  the  Open  Door  Policy  as  thus  amended 
was  re-affirmed  by  Great  Britain  and  Germany  on  October 
16,  1900,  in  an  agreement  in  which  these  two  powers  de¬ 
clared  that  they  would  uphold  for  “all  Chinese  territory” 
a  policy  of  equality  of  opportunity  for  the  trade  of  all 
nations,  and  that  they  would  not  take  advantage  of  the 
circumstances  then  existing  to  obtain  for  themselves  any 
territorial  advantage,  but  would  seek  to  maintain  undi¬ 
minished  the  territorial  conditions  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

The  protocol  in  settlement  of  the  Boxer  troubles  had 
scarcely  been  signed  when  the  world  was  startled  by  the 
news  of  the  Anglo- Japanese  alliance  of  January  30,  1902. 
This  was  doubtless  prompted  by  Russian  aggressive  move¬ 
ments  in  the  Manchurian  provinces  of  China.  The  policy 
of  the  Open  Door  was  again  emphatically  reaffirmed, 
the  two  powers  expressly  declaring  that  they  were  “Spe¬ 
cially  interested  in  maintaining  the  independence  and 
territorial  integrity  of  the  empire  of  China  and  the  empire 
of  Korea,  and  in  securing  equal  opportunities  in  those 
countries  for  the  commerce  and  industry  of  all  nations.” 

Further  support  to  the  policy  was  given  by  the  agree¬ 
ment  of  June  10,  1907,  between  Russia  and  Japan.  Addi¬ 
tional  emphasis  was  given  to  these  pledges  in  the  Root- 
Takahira  notes  of  November  30,  1908,  declaring  the  com¬ 
mon  policy  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  in  the  region 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  including  a  determination  “to  pre¬ 
serve  the  common  interest  of  all  powers  in  China  by 
supporting  by  all  pacific  means  at  their  disposal  the  in¬ 
dependence  and  integrity  of  China  and  the  principle  of 
equal  opportunity  for  commerce  and  industries  of  all 
nations  in  that  empire.” 

Yet  all  these  declarations  apparently  are  to  be  inter¬ 
preted  in  a  Pickwickian  sense,  for  when  China  entered 
into  a  contract  on  May  17,  1916,  with  Messrs.  Siems  & 
Carey,  a  firm  of  American  engineers  associated  with  the 


426 


Spheres  of  Interest 

American  International  Corporation,  for  the  construction 
of  1500  miles  of  railway,  afterwards  reduced  to  1100  miles, 
to  be  selected  from  a  list  of  proposed  lines,  the  firm  found 
itself  blocked  at  every  turn  by  the  claims  of  various  gov¬ 
ernments  to  options  on  railway  building  in  the  districts 
concerned.  One  of  the  first  proposals  was  for  a  line  to 
be  built  from  Fengcheng  in  Shansi  to  Ninghsia  in  Kansuh. 
Fengcheng  is"  on  the  Peking-Suiyuan  Railway,  some  230 
miles  north-west  of  Peking.  The  proposed  line  would  be 
constructed  from  Fengcheng  south-westwards  into  the 
upper  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  River,  a  fertile 
region  being  settled  by  Chinese  immigrants.  The  Rus¬ 
sian  government  objected  to  the  construction  of  such  a 
line  on  the  ground  that  it  extended  through  a  region 
reserved  for  Russian  enterprise.  Yet  the  agreement  to 
which  the  Russian  government  referred  had  no  relation 
to  lines  north-west  or  west  of  Peking,  but  only  lines  to  be 
built  northwards  or  north-eastwards  from  Peking.  The 
next  line  considered  by  the  Siems-Carey  firm  was  to  be 
built  from  Chuchow,  on  the  Canton-Hankow  Railway  in 
Hunan  Province,  to  Yamchow  on  the  southern  coast  of 
Kuangtung.  To  this  the  French  Government  objected 
that  the  construction  of  the  proposed  line  would  violate 
the  secret  understanding  of  September  26,  1914,  embodied 
in  an  exchange  of  notes  between  the  French  Minister  in 
Peking  and  the  Chinese  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs. 
This  arrangement  granted  to  French  citizens  an  option 
on  railway  and  mining  enterprise  in  the  province  of 
Kuangsi,  through  which  the  proposed  line  was  to  be  built. 
The  Ministry  in  1916  apparently  was  ignorant  of  the 
existence  of  such  an  agreement,  and  the  American  Govern¬ 
ment  was  disposed  to  question  the  value  of  an  option  of 
which  no  public  notice  had  been  given.  The  American 
engineers  then  undertook  the  survey  of  a  line  from  Chou- 
chiakou  in  Honan,  via  Siangyang  in  Hupei,  into  the 
province  of  Szechuen.  The  survey  disclosed  a  route  into 
Szechuen  presenting  fewer  engineering  difficulties,  it  was 
claimed,  than  that  to  be  taken  by  the  Hankow-Szechuen 
branch  of  the  Hukuang  Railways,  contract  for  which  was 


Spheres  of  Interest 


427 


signed  in  1911  with  the  Four-Power  Group.  The  British 
Government  objected  to  the  Siems  &  Carey  project,  on 
the  ground  that  some  years  ago  a  Viceroy  of  Wuchang 
promised  a  British  Consul  General  at  Hankow  that  British 
capitalists  should  have  a  first  option  on  lines  to  be  built 
in  the  province  of  Hupei,  which  was  to  be  crossed  by  the 
proposed  line.  Yet  the  central  government  had  no  record 
of  any  such  agreement.  Finally,  the  engineering  company 
was  to  be  employed  in  the  improvement  of  the  Grand 
Canal,  under  a  contract  between  the  Chinese  Government 
and  the  American  International  Corporation  which  was 
to  provide  a  loan  for  the  purpose. 

But  the  Grand  Canal  crosses  Shantung  Province,  and 
the  Japanese  Government  claimed  to  be  heirs  of  all  the 
rights  formerly  belonging  to  Germany  in  that  province, 
among  which  was  an  option  on  all  public  works  that  should 
require  foreign  capital  or  foreign  skilled  labor.  The 
American  Government  had  declined  to  recognize  that 
Germany  had  a  monopoly  of  such  enterprises  in  Shantung, 
and  the  German  Government  itself  had  declared  that  it 
did  not  claim  a  monopoly  nor  any  exclusive  rights  in  Shan¬ 
tung.9  The  Chinese  Government,  as  bound  by  the  con¬ 
vention  with  Germany,  notified  that  power  of  its  desire 
to  make  a  loan  for  the  improvement  of  the  Canal,  and  the 
German  Government,  then  engaged  in  the  World  War,  de¬ 
clared  that  it  had  no  interest  in  the  undertaking.  The 
American  International  Corporation,  however,  to  silence 
objection,  granted  Japanese  capitalists  an  interest  in  the 
enterprise  to  an  amount  of  five-twelfths  of  the  proposed 
loan.  The  loan,  for  six  million  dollars  at  seven  per  cent, 
has  not  yet  been  issued. 

SPECIAL  INTERESTS 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  pledges  to  maintain  an 
open  door,  with  equality  of  opportunity  for  the  economic 
activity  of  the  nationals  of  all  countries,  are  to  be  inter¬ 
preted  as  qualified  by  the  special  interests  of  the  various 

9  Count  von  Biilow  to  the  Reichstag,  March  3,  1902. 


428 


Spheres  of  Interest 


powers  in  the  regions  where  they  claim  to  possess 
spheres  of  interest.  In  the  correspondence  between  the 
United  States  and  Russia,  regarding  the  open  door  in 
Manchuria,  Russia  declared,  on  February  9,  1902:  “  There 
is  no  thought  of  attacking  the  principle  of  the  open  door 
as  that  principle  is  understood  by  the  Imperial  Govern¬ 
ment  of  Russia”  10  (italics  are  mine).  Subsequent  events 
would  seem  to  have  indicated  that  Russia  did  not  under¬ 
stand  that  principle  as  some  others  did. 

Generally  speaking  it  may  be  said  that  the  powers 
pledged  to  the  Open  Door  Policy  understood  that  pledge 
to  mean  these  things : 

(1)  The  territorial  integrity  and  administrative  entity  of  China 
are  not  to  be  impaired. 

(2)  Except  in  certain  spheres  of  interest  there  is  to  be  perfect 
equality  of  opportunity  for  the  economic  enterprise  of  the 
citizens  of  all  nations. 

(3)  Within  the  spheres  of  interest,  other  conditions  being 
equal,  the  power  interested  is  to  enjoy  a  preference  in 
furnishing  capital  and  skill  for  railway  building,  mining 
and  other  public  works. 

(4)  No  higher  customs  duties  or  tonnage  dues  are  to  be  levied 
in  a  leased  territory  than  are  levied  by  the  Chinese  law, 
and  no  preference  in  regard  to  these  is  to  be  enjoyed  by 
the  power  holding  the  lease  of  the  port. 

(5)  No  discrimination  in  freight  rates  is  to  be  permitted  on 
railways  in  China  leased  or  operated  by  a  foreign  power 
or  company. 

This  last  item  has  not  always  been  strictly  observed. 
While  regulations  relating  to  freight  shipments  over  such 
railroads  have  been  expressed  in  phraseology  apparently 
applicable  alike  to  all  shippers,  they  are  sometimes  so 
drawn  as  to  provide  a  real  discrimination  in  favor  of  the 
shippers  of  the  lessee  nationality.  Thus  petroleum  shipped 
east  or  south  over  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway — i.e., 
Russian  petroleum,  paid  one  rate,  but  petroleum  shipped 
north  or  west — i.e.,  American  petroleum,  paid  a  higher 
rate  for  the  same  distance. 

io  Foreign  Relations  of  the  U.  S.,  1902,  p.  929. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


429 


So  in  1914  the  South  Manchurian  Railway  Administra¬ 
tion  (Japanese)  gave  a  special  rate  to  merchandise  shipped 
direct  from  Japan  through  Dairen  or  Port  Arthur  to 
points  north  of  Mukden.  The  British  and  American 
Governments  objected  that  their  merchandise  was  not 
shipped  through  Japan.  The  regulation  was  amended  to 
read:  “all  merchandise  shipped  from  a  foreign  port 
through  Dairen  or  Port  Arthur  direct  to  points  north  of 
Mukden”  should  enjoy  the  special  rate.  The  protesting 
governments  insisted  that  this  too  violated  the  Open  Door 
Policy,  since  their  goods  were  not  shipped  direct  to  points 
north  of  Mukden,  but  were  transhipped  at  Shanghai, 
which  is  not  a  foreign  port  as  related  to  Mukden.  Then 
the  rule  was  again  amended  to  cover  shipments  from 
Shanghai  in  Japanese  steamers,  which  also  showed  dis¬ 
crimination.  Newchwang,  too,  complained  of  discrimi¬ 
nation  against  that  port,  a  complaint  subsequently  ad¬ 
justed. 

That  the  policy  of  the  Open  Door  was  to  be  interpreted 
in  some  way  in  harmony  with  the  existence  of  special 
interests  enjoyed  by  certain  powers  is  indicated  also  in  the 
Lansing-Ishii  notes.  These  notes,  signed  on  November  2, 
1917,  declare  that: 

Territorial  propinquity  creates  special  relations  between  coun¬ 
tries,  and,  consequently,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
recognizes  that  Japan  has  special  interests  in  China,  particularly 
in  that  part  to  which  her  possessions  are  contiguous. 

The  notes  furthermore  declare  that 

The  territorial  sovereignty  of  China,  nevertheless  remains  un¬ 
impaired,  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  every 
confidence  in  the  repeated  assurances  of  the  Imperial  Japanese 
Government  that,  while  geographical  position  gives  Japan  such 
special  interests,  they  have  no  desire  to  discriminate  against  the 
trade  of  other  nations  or  to  disregard  the  commercial  rights 
heretofore  granted  by  China  in  treaties  with  other  powers. 

A  further  declaration  is  made  in  the  note  of  opposition 
to  the  acquisition  by  any  power  of  any  special  rights  or 
privileges  that  would  affect  the  independence  or  territorial 


430 


Spheres  of  Interest 


integrity  of  China.  Adherence  is  given,  too,  to  the  policy 
of  the  Open  Door,  and  equality  of  opportunity  for  com¬ 
merce  and  industry  in  China. 

The  special  interest  of  Japan,  therefore,  is  not  such  an 
interest  as  abridges  the  commercial  rights  of  other  nations, 
or  affects  the  sovereignty  or  independence  of  China.  It 
can  be  no  more  than  that  interest  which  every  nation  has 
in  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  its  neighbors.  Moreover, 
the  rule  which  gives  Japan  a  special  interest  in  China  gives 
a  special  interest  in  China  to  Great  Britain,  Prance  and 
Russia,  all  of  which  have  territories  contiguous  to  China. 
It  gives  a  special  interest  in  China  also  to  the  United 
States,  which  enjoys  propinquity  in  its  possession  of  the 
Philippines.  By  the  same  rule  China  has  a  special  interest 
in  Russian,  British,  French  and  Japanese  possessions  that 
join  her  own.  The  notes,  therefore,  scarcely  do  more  than 
affirm  the  obvious,  and  the  logical  deduction  from  their 
statements  merely  makes  more  formal  and  definite  the 
recognition  of  spheres  of  interest  for  Great  Britain,  France, 
Russia  and  Japan  in  regions  contiguous  to  their  own  pos¬ 
session,  a  recognition  already  granted  by  implication  in 
the  notes  of  Secretary  Hay. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  Japan  endeavored  to  substitute 
in  the  notes  the  phrase  “special  influence”  for  “special 
interest,”  but  the  American  Government  would  not  con¬ 
sent. 

Willoughby  quotes  Cobbett  as  saying: 

A  sphere  of  influence  so  far  as  it  can  be  said  to  possess  a 
definite  meaning,  indicates  a  region,  generally  inhabited  by  races 
of  inferior  civilization,  over  which  a  State  seeks,  by  compact 
with  some  other  State  or  States  that  might  otherwise  compete 
with  it,  to  secure  to  itself  an  exclusive  right  of  making  future 
acquisitions  of  territory  (whether  by  annexation  or  by  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  protectorates),  and,  generally,  also,  the  direction  and 
control  of  the  native  inhabitants.11 

Commenting  on  this  Willoughby  says:  “It  will  clearly 

11  W.  W.  Willoughby,  1 1  Foreign  Rights  and  Interests  in  China,  ’  ’ 
p.  271. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


431 


appear  that,  as  thus  defined,  the  term  Sphere  of  Influ¬ 
ence  has  no  application  in  China.  ’  ’ 

It  is  true  that  official  documents  have  avoided  the 
use  of  the  term  “Sphere  of  Influence, ”  but  it  is  often 
used  in  popular  speech  in  the  Far  East  as  synony¬ 
mous  with  ‘  ‘  Sphere  of  Interest.  ’  ’  The  desire  of  the 
Japanese  to  substitute  the  phrase  “Special  Influence” 
for  “Special  Interest”  in  the  Ishii  note  is  very  sig¬ 
nificant,  and  when  one  reviews  the  history  of  China’s 
relations  with  foreign  powers,  he  cannot  avoid  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  “Spheres  of  Influence”  as  well  as  “Spheres 
of  Interest”  have  been  sought.  The  brief  summary  given 
in  the  first  chapter  of  China’s  loss  of  territory  indicates 
this  very  clearly. 

French  enterprise  in  the  Indo-Chinese  Peninsula  was 
first  directed  to  the  acquisition  of  a  position  of  influence 
in  the  councils  of  the  State,  by  assistance  to  be  given  in 
the  settlement  of  a  dynastic  question.  A  war,  in  1858-62, 
to  secure  redress  for  the  murder  of  French  missionaries, 
obtained  possession  of  three  provinces,  and  led  to  a  protect¬ 
orate  over  Cambodia  to  replace  that  of  Siam  and  Annam. 
In  1867  pretext  was  given  for  annexation  of  more  territory 
in  Cochin  China.  The  Mekong  proving  to  be  of  little 
value  for  navigation,  attempt  was  made  to  navigate  the 
Fed  River.  The  refusal  of  the  Annamese  to  give  consent 
led  to  war.  China  gave  aid  to  her  vassal  but  could  not 
save  her,  and  she  unwillingly  passed  under  the  protection 
of  France.  Burmah,  long  a  tributary  of  China,  passed 
in  very  much  the  same  way  into  the  possession  of  Great 
Britain,  although,  sending  a  tribute  mission  to  Peking 
as  late  as  1895. 

The  annexation  of  the  northern  provinces  of  India  which 
formerly  were  included  in  the  Chinese  Empire  was  effected 
in  similar  fashion.  Intervention  to  restore  peace  between 
certain  provinces  gave  Britain  an  influence  in  them  which 
was  exercised  first  as  arbitrator  and  then  as  protector. 
The  present  movement  to  deny  China’s  sovereignty  in 
Outer  Tibet  and  make  Britain  arbitrator  of  differences 
between  China  and  her  vassal  must  be  judged  in  the  light 


432 


Spheres  of  Interest 


of  past  history.  The  same  is  true  of  Russian  influence  in 
Urga.  Japanese  activity  in  Manchuria  must  be  judged 
by  the  course  taken  by  her  government  in  its  relations  with 
Korea.  In  the  Russo-Japanese  war  the  Emperor  of  Korea 
declared  his  neutrality,  but  Japan  paid  no  more  attention 
to  that  than  Germany  did  to  the  neutrality  of  Belgium. 
Japanese  troops  made  a  highway  of  Korea.  Japan  forced 
Korea  into  an  unwilling  alliance,  and  promised  to  respect 
her  independence  and  territorial  integrity.  To  this  she  was 
pledged  by  the  treaty  of  alliance  with  Great  Britain,  but 
before  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Russia  was  signed  Great 
Britain  agreed  to  a  revision  of  the  treaty,  in  August,  1905. 
In  this  revised  treaty  Britain  recognizes  Japan’s  possession 
of  paramount  political,  military  and  economic  interests  in 
Korea.  Despite  Japan’s  promise  to  the  Emperor  of  Korea, 
he  was  compelled  by  forceful  measures,  in  November, 
1905,  to  sign  away  his  independence  and  accept  Japan’s 
suzerainty.  The  Emperor  in  his  despair  appealed  re¬ 
peatedly  to  the  United  States  to  exercise  its  good  offices, 
as  promised  in  our  treaty  of  1882,  but  the  American  Gov¬ 
ernment  closed  its  ears.  A  special  mission  was  sent  to 
Washington,  but  reception  of  it  by  the  Department  of  State 
was  postponed  until  the  protectorate  was  declared,  when 
the  Koreans  were  informed  that  it  was  too  late.12  There 
are  several  treaties,  it  seems,  that  have  been  considered 
mere  “scraps  of  paper.”  We  were  the  first  power  to  with¬ 
draw  our  legation  from  Seoul.  Still  Korea  retained  a 
moiety  of  her  sovereignty,  but  Japan’s  influence  waxed, 
and  in  1910  Korea  was  annexed  to  the  Empire. 

There  is,  therefore,  good  ground  for  thinking  that 
Britain  has  looked  upon  Tibet,  Russia  upon  Mongolia,  and 
Japan  upon  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  as 
their  respective  Spheres  of  Influence. 

THE  WASHINGTON  CONFERENCE 

The  importance  of  the  Washington  Conference  to  China 
can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  For  the  first  time  the 

i2HuIbe,rt’s  “  Passing  of  Korea,  ”  p.  222. 


Spheres  of  Interest 


433 


powers  having  interests  in  China  invited  the  Chinese  Gov¬ 
ernment  to  become  a  party  to  an  agreement  relating  to 
the  Open  Door  and  Equality  of  Commercial  Opportunity 
in  their  country.  This  agreement  is  the  only  one  that 
binds  all  the  nine  powers  in  one  treaty  to  respect  the 
sovereignty,  independence,  and  the  territorial  and  admin¬ 
istrative  integrity  of  China,  and  to  maintain  the  policy 
of  the  Open  Door.  It  binds  China  to  avoid  discrimination 
in  the  treatment  of  the  subjects  and  citizens  of  the  con¬ 
tracting  States,  and  it  pledges  the  powers  other  than  China 
to  withhold  support  from  any  arrangement  purporting  “to 
establish  in  favor  of  their  interests  any  general  superiority 
of  rights  with  respect  to  commercial  or  economic  develop¬ 
ment  in  any  designated  region  of  China.  ”  This  is  aimed 
directly  at  ‘  ‘  Spheres  of  Interest.  ’  ’ 13  Another  article 
pledges  the  powers  to  withhold  support  from  agreements 
among  their  nationals  designed  to  create  “Spheres  of  In¬ 
fluence.  ’  ’ 14  The  question  naturally  arises ;  have  they 
bound  the  Governments  not  to  claim  Spheres  of  Influence? 

13  Nine-Power  Treaty,  Article  III. 

14  Ibid.,  Article  IY, 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  ERA  OF  REFORM 

No  man  putteth  new  wine  into  old  bottles,  else  the  new  wine  will 
burst  the  bottles. — Luke  v:37. 

The  Master  said,  ‘ 1  What  is  necessary  is  to  make  names  correct.  ’  ’ — 
Analects  of  Confucius,  xiii:3. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1902,  I  stood  on  the  balcony  of 
a  silk  shop  facing  the  Ch’ien  Men  Ta  Chieh,  or  “ Great 
Front  Gate  Street,”  in  Peking.  It  is  the  principal  busi¬ 
ness  street  of  the  Outer  City,  commonly  called  the  ‘  ‘  Chinese 
City,”  to  distinguish  it  from  the  larger  enclosure  to  the 
north,  called  the  Tartar  City. 

The  Manchu  Court,  after  an  exile  of  a  year  and  a  half, 
was  returning  to  the  Capital.  When  the  American  con¬ 
tingent  of  the  forces  sent  to  relieve  the  Legations  had,  in 
August,  1900,  seized  the  Ch’ien  Men,  or  “Front  Gate” 
of  the  Capital,  and  had  begun  firing  on  the  palace  in  the 
Forbidden  City,  the  Empress  Dowager  and  her  courtiers 
had  hastily  fled  out  the  back  gate  of  the  Forbidden  City, 
across  the  northern  part  of  the  Tartar  City  and,  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  frightened  multitude  and  cursing  guards, 
made  their  way  through  the  north-western  gate  into  the 
open  country.  The  streets  were  filled  with  surging  masses 
fleeing  pell-mell  in  terror.  It  is  said  that  the  imperial 
guards  killed  more  people  getting  out  of  the  city  than  the 
allied  forces  did  coming  in. 

The  Empress  Dowager  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
have  the  Emperor  accompany  her.  Her  niece,  the  Em¬ 
press,  was  also  provided  a  place.  The  two  imperial  con¬ 
cubines,  reputed  to  have  held  progressive  views  and  to  have 
had  much  influence  with  the  Emperor,  were  left  behind. 
The  body  of  one  was  found  in  a  well  in  the  Forbidden 

434 


« 


The  Era  of  Reform 


435 


City.  Some  assert  that  she  was  thrown  into  the  well  by 
command  of  Her  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Empress  Dowager. 
Others  say  she  was  a  suicide.  Her  sister,  the  remaining 
concubine,  was  rescued  from  amidst  the  flying  mob  by  an 
imperial  prince,  who  conducted  her  to  a  place  of  safety 
and  sent  her  on  to  join  the  Court.  The  Court  had  rested 
one  night  at  the  Summer  Palace,  and  then  by  slow  marches 
had  made  its  way  to  the  city  of  Hsian  Fu,  the  capital  of 
Shensi,  and  anciently  the  capital  of  China,  situated  in  the 
far  north-west,  a  month’s  journey  from  Peking.  After 
her  return  the  Empress  Dowager,  referring  to  this  ex¬ 
perience,  with  pathos  in  her  voice,  said  she  had  fled  in 
such  haste  that  she  had  had  no  time  to  comb  her  hair, 
and  had  had  no  breakfast  that  day  save  a  hard-boiled  egg. 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  COURT 

Now,  after  eighteen  months’  waiting  for  the  restoration 
of  peace,  she  was  returning  to  her  palace.  It  was  a  bitterly 
cold  day.  A  north-west  wind  was  blowing.  The  streets 
were  filled  with  germ-laden  dust  that  penetrated  one’s 
eyes,  nostrils,  ears  and  lungs.  The  inhabitants  of  the  city 
said:  “The  dragon  is  soaring  in  the  clouds  because  the 
Emperor  is  abroad.”  The  dragon  is  the  emblem  of  im¬ 
perial  power.  It  also  represents  the  power  that  rules  the 
winds.  Two  lines  of  a  Christian  hymn  would  express  very 
well  the  Chinese  idea  of  the  dragon : 

His  chariot  of  Avrath  the  deep  thunder  clouds  form, 

And  dark  is  his  path  on  the  wings  of  the  storm. 

It  was  a  common  tradition  that  if  the  Emperor  at  any 
time  left  his  palace  there  would  be  a  high  wind  accom¬ 
panying  him. 

From  the  semi-lune  which  formerly  concealed  the  1 1  Front 
Gate”  of  the  Tartar  City,  clear  across  the  Chinese  city  to 
the  Yungting  Gate,  a  mile  to  the  south,  the  street  had  been 
cleared  of  all  booths  and  stalls.  The  roadway  had  been 
swept  and  then  covered  with  yellow  earth,  yellow  being 


436 


The  Era  of  Reform 


the  imperial  color.  Every  shop  and  home  on  the  street 
was  closed  and  shutters  put  up  over  the  windows:  Every 
cross  street  was  cut  off  by  blue  curtains,  for  no  common 
eye  must  gaze  upon  majesty  as  it  rides  by.  Only  the  im¬ 
perial  guard,  drawn  up  on  either  side  the  way,  was  per¬ 
mitted  upon  the  street.  Princess,  dukes  and  other  nobles 
were  with  their  several  banner  corps.  From  early  morn 
until  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  the  patient  soldiers 
waited  in  their  ranks  in  biting  wind  and  suffocating  dust, 
without  food  or  drink. 

It  had  been  a  long  journey  from  Hsianfu  to  Peking. 
At  the  slow  rate  of  imperial  travel  it  had  occupied  some 
six  weeks.  The  progress  of  the  Court,  with  its  thousands 
of  servants  and  guards  had  been  as  great  a  calamity  to  the 
districts  through  which  it  passed  as  a  swarm  of  locusts. 
Orders  to  respect  private  property  and  to  pay  for  supplies 
were  issued,  but  only  to  be  ignored  by  rapacious  under¬ 
lings.  This  was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  that  Chinese 
Emperors  in  recent  times  so  seldom  left  the  Capital.  The 
Ministers  and  high  officials  would  do  all  in  their  power 
to  dissuade  His  Majesty  from  making  a  visit  to  any  prov¬ 
ince  where  they  had  friends  or  relatives,  knowing  well 
how  the  people  would  suffer.  As  it  was  in  England  in 
the  14th  century,  so  it  was  in  China  in  the  20th.  Green 
tells  us  that  royal  journeys  in  the  days  of  Edward  III 
beggared  the  people,  who  were  fain  to  hide  or  eat  their 
supplies  to  save  them  from  the  purveyors  of  the  Court, 
who  bought  at  fair  market  prices  but  never  paid  for  any¬ 
thing. 

We  watched  upon  the  balcony  hour  after  hour,  and,  when 
we  grew  too  cold,  we  would  go  into  the  shop  and  warm 
our  hands  at  a  charcoal  brazier  whose  fumes  filled  the 
room  and  gave  one  a  headache.  When  the  atmosphere  of 
the  room  became  too  stifling  we  would  return  to  the 
balcony  to  get  a  breath  of  air.  We  were  a  party  of 
Americans  and  Europeans  from  the  legations,  graciously 
permitted  by  the  Chinese  Government,  in  violation  of 
ancient  custom,  to  look  down  upon  Imperial  Majesty  on 
this  eventful  day  of  re-entry  into  Peking.  But  we  found 


The  Era  of  Reform 


437 


that,  despite  all  orders  and  precedents,  the  people  of 
Peking  were  just  as  eager  and  determined  as  we  to  see 
the  procession.  Above  the  comb  of  every  roof,  now  and 
again  we  saw  long  rows  of  heads  appear  and  disappear, 
and  myriads  of  dark  eyes  gazing  curiously  down  over  the 
tiles  into  the  street.  The  gilded  sign-boards  of  a  thousand 
trades  rattled  in  the  wind.  Near  at  hand  rose  the  mas¬ 
sive  grey  walls  of  the  Tartar  City.  The  roof-tree  of  the 
unfinished  tower  at  the  Ch’ien  Men  bore  witness  to  the 
devastation  wrought  by  the  Boxer  folly.  Beyond  the  lofty 
city  wall  rose  the  Twin  Pagodas,  built  in  the  days  of 
Kublai  Khan,  and  we  could  not  but  think  of  the  many 
centuries  that  had  passed  since  Marco  Polo  mingled  with 
the  courtiers  of  Peking,  and  of  all  the  changes  wrought 
by  those  centuries  to  this  ancient  city. 

The  Court  had  returned  by  way  of  the  Yellow  Eiver 
valley  to  Kaifengfu  and  thence  northward  to  Paoting- 
fu,  the  old  capital  of  Chihli  Province.  The  railway  which 
had  been  torn  up  by  the  Boxers  was  once  more  in  opera¬ 
tion  from  Paoting  to  Peking.  For  the  first  time  in  her 
life  the  Empress  Dowager  rode  on  a  railway  train.  She 
was  startled  by  the  whistle  of  the  train  as  it  approached 
a  crossing,  and  sent  word  to  the  engineer  that  thereafter 
he  should  not  blow  the  whistle  without  first  notifying  her. 
The  allied  armies,  on  rebuilding  the  railways,  had  brought 
them  into  the  city,  cutting  great  gaps  in  the  sacred  walls 
for  this  purpose.  Prior  to  the  Boxer  rising  this  had 
been  forbidden,  and  now  that  their  Majesties  were  return¬ 
ing,  the  existence  of  railway  tracks  through  the  walls  was 
ignored.  Instead  of  riding  in  a  comfortable  coach  to  the 
Ch’ien  Men,  the  Court  descended  from  the  train  at  the 
old  terminus,  Machiapu,  five  miles  away,  and  made  the 
journey  in  palanquins  and  carts  or  on  horseback,  facing 
the  bitter  wind.  Such  is  conservatism. 

About  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  an  alarm  was  given. 
A  horde  of  eunuchs  on  shaggy,  unkempt  ponies  came  dash¬ 
ing  by.  These  eunuchs,  in  their  crimson  robes  covered 
with  huge  medallions  of  green  and  yellow,  and  wearing 
black  caps  with  red  feathers  attached,  looked  like  so  many 


438 


The  Era  of  Reform 


circus  clowns.  Behind  them  came  the  imperial  herald 
crying  the  approach  of  the  Court.  Immediately  the  sol¬ 
diers  fell  upon  their  knees  and  bowed  their  heads  toward 
the  ground.  Next  into  view  came  the  Imperial  Guard 
folowed  by  a  group  of  military  officers  on  horseback,  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai  in  his  yellow  jacket  riding  in  their  midst.  Close 
behind  were  the  imperial  standards,  great  triangular  flags 
of  yellow  satin  on  each  of  which  was  embroidered  the 
blue  dragon  trying  to  swallow  a  red  sun.  Beside  the 
banners  were  the  yellow  umbrellas,  emblems  of  power, 
upon  whose  flounces  were  embroidered  the  imperial 
dragons. 

Behind  these  emblems,  borne  swiftly  along  by  eight 
bearers,  rode  the  Emperor  in  his  yellow  satin  palanquin, 
which  was  lined  with  blue  silk.  He  sat  upon  his  feet  and 
gazed  straight  ahead,  like  the  Buddha  on  his  lotus  throne. 
Following  the  Emperor  came  the  Empress  Dowager  with 
her  guards.  She  was  more  human  in  her  actions — pulled 
aside  the  curtains  of  her  chair  and  waved  her  handkerchief 
toward  the  ladies  on  the  balcony  in  token  of  friendly  feel¬ 
ing.  It  was  difficult  to  realize  that  a  few  months  before 
she  had  been  trying  to  destroy  these  legation  folk  with 
shot  and  shell. 

After  the  Empress  Dowager  there  came  the  Empress  in 
her  yellow  chair,  the  imperial  concubine  and  the  ladies- 
in-waiting  in  their  carts,  and  princes,  dukes  and  other 
noblemen  on  their  horses  or  in  green  chairs,  with  officers 
and  attendants  of  various  ranks  bringing  up  the  rear.  It 
was  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  barbaric  splendor.  The 
motley  group  of  attendants,  the  lack  of  order,  the  wild 
riding,  the  gorgeous  colors,  the  quaint  costumes,  the 
ancient  emblems  all  united  to  make  it  like  a  scene  from  the 
Arabian  Nights.  It  was  the  last  pageant  of  its  kind.  It 
marked  the  end  of  an  era. 

The  next  time  the  Emperor  went  forth  was  to  worship 
at  the  Temple  of  Heaven.  He  went  escorted  by  modern 
troops,  who  stood  and  presented  arms  instead  of  grovel¬ 
ing  in  the  dust  before  him. 


The  Era  of  Reform 


439 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  REFORM 

\ 

"With  the  return  of  the  Court  to  Peking  a  very  earnest 
movement  for  reform  began.  Edict  followed  edict  with 
feverish  haste.  But  the  new  wine  was  being  poured  into 
old  wine-skins.  The  ferment  extended  throughout  the 
empire.  Manchu  institutions  could  not  stand  the  strain. 
In  one  brief  decade  the  wine-sldns  were  destined  to  burst, 
the  Manchu  Dynasty  to  disappear. 

In  one  of  the  edicts  issued  by  the  Empress  Dowager  she 
quoted  the  saying  of  Confucius  that  the  one  thing  needful 
was  to  correct  the  terms,  or  names,  by  which  things  were 
being  called.  Confucius  was  aiming  his  remark  at  an  un- 
fdial  son  and  usurper.  He  meant  that  he  would  call  things 
by  their  right  names.  "With  the  Empress  Dowager  it 
meant  that  some  of  her  reforms  got  no  further  than  a 
change  of  names.  Old  offices  were  given  new  names  and 
dedicated  to  new  uses,  but  the  corruption  and  inefficiency 
remained  as  before.  The  title,  Tsungli  Yamen,  was  an 
abridgment  of  the  name  by  which  the  Foreign  Office  had 
been  called.  The  full  title  when  translated  was  4 ‘Office 
for  the  General  Direction  of  the  Affairs  of  Various  Coun¬ 
tries.”  This  was  changed  to  Wai  Chiao  Pu,  or  “Ministry 
of  Foreign  Relations.”  The  Hu  Pu,  or  “Board  of  Popu¬ 
lation,”  a  name  reminiscent  of  a  time  when  its  chief  func¬ 
tion  was  to  take  the  census  and  collect  poll  tax  and  land 
tax,  became  the  “Ministry  of  Finance.”  Other  offices, 
too,  were  given  new  names.  Seeing  that  changing  the 
name  did  not  always  change  the  character  of  the  institu¬ 
tion  some  critics  were  disposed  to  xj0°h-P0°h  the  whole 
reform  movement.  They  called  it  a  sham,  and  said  that 
reform  existed  only  on  paper.  But  that  was  an  unjust 
criticism.  Had  there  been  no  real  spirit  of  reform  in  the 
air,  there  would  have  been  no  ferment,  and  nominal  changes 
might  have  sufficed.  In  that  case  no  explosion  could  have 
occurred;  the  dynasty  might  have  survived.  But  the 
people  demanded  real  change.  There  was  pretense,  to  be 
sure ;  there  were  insincere  reformers.  But  there  were  others 


440 


The  Era  of  Reform 


desperately  in  earnest.  The  old  and  new  struggled  to¬ 
gether.  Some  really  new  institutions  were  created  to  meet 
the  new  situation.  There  was  a  Ministry  of  the  Interior, 
with  a  national  police  force  under  its  control.  There  was 
a  Ministry  of  Commerce,  a  Ministry  of  Posts  and  Com¬ 
munications,  a  Ministry  of  Education,  and  multitudes  of 
bureaus  designed  to  aid  in  the  modernization  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  But  vested  interests  are  not  easily  destroyed.  There 
were  too  many  parasites  who  were  unwilling  to  surrender 
their  sinecures  for  the  sake  of  the  general  good.  They 
opposed  the  reforms  because  their  craft  was  in  danger. 
Men  were  puzzled  by  what  they  saw.  The  hypercritical 
saw  only  inconsistency.  Others  marveled  at  the  rapidity 
of  the  changes  being  made  and  saw  only  progress. 

We  had  been  told  repeatedly  in  the  years  before  the 
Boxer  crisis  that  the  Chinese  could  never  reform;  that 
their  institutions  had  become  hardened  and  fixed,  had  not 
changed  since  the  days  of  Confucius,  had  lost  all  their 
plasticity  and  could  not  be  modified.  The  statement  was 
untrue,  for  Chinese  history  records  many  crises  which  had 
introduced  great  changes  and  turned  the  current  of 
national  life  into  new  channels.  Future  history,  no  doubt, 
will  set  down  the  year  1902  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  era 
in  China,  one  that  was  to  inaugurate  other  great  social 
and  political  changes.  For,  in  spite  of  pessimistic 
prophets,  China  began  to  change  again  but  not  as  the 
Manchus  designed.  They  started  a  movement  which  soon 
got  beyond  their  control  and  whose  outcome  we  cannot 
even  yet  foretell. 

EDUCATIONAL  REFORM 

The  failure  of  the  Boxer  rising,  coming  so  soon  after 
China’s  defeat  by  Japan,  convinced  even  so  pronounced  a 
conservative  as  the  Empress  Dowager  that  China  had  to 
have  a  new  system  of  education,  if  the  nation  was  ever  to 
develop  the  strength  necessary  to  withstand  the  aggressions 
of  the  powers. 

Even  before  she  left  Hsianfu  to  return  to  Peking  she 
issued  an  edict  requiring  the  officials  of  the  empire  to 


THE  VICEROY  CHANG  CHIH-TUNG.  HER  IMPERIAL  MAJESTY,  THE  EMPRESS  DOWAGER 

OF  CHINA. 


The  Era  of  Reform 


441 


acquaint  themselves  with  international  law  and  political 
science,  and  giving  them  six  months  within  which  to  com¬ 
plete  the  task.  That,  of  course,  was  neither  practical  nor 
practicable.  But  immediately  after  her  return  to  Peking 
she  appointed  a  commission  to  draft  a  public  school  system. 
The  two  commissioners  were  Chang  Chih-tung,  the  Vice¬ 
roy  at  Wuchang,  author  of  the  little  book  called  “ Learn” 
which  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  Chang  Po-hsi,  the 
Minister  of  Education  and  one  of  the  foremost  scholars  of 
China. 


THE  OLD  SYSTEM 

Prior  to  this  there  had  been  no  public  school  system 
in  China.  Education  was  a  private  matter.  The  wealthy 
kept  tutors  for  their  children.  In  the  villages  and  city 
wards  the  neighbors,  under  the  leadership  of  their  elders, 
clubbed  together  to  maintain  schools,  each  family  paying 
the  teacher  a  few  hundred  cash  a  month  for  each  child 
sent.  In  this  way  one  boy  in  ten,  perhaps,  learned  enough 
characters  to  be  able  to  keep  his  accounts.  One  in  a  thou¬ 
sand,  it  may  be,  could  read  a  book  or  newspaper  editorial 
understandingly.  The  only  interest  of  the  State  in  edu¬ 
cation  was  manifested  in  the  holding  of  examinations  for 
the  civil  and  military  services  of  the  empire.  The  system 
of  civil  service  examinations  in  vogue  up  to  1900  was  at 
least  a  thousand  years  old,  while  in  simpler  form  it  had 
existed  from  very  ancient  times. 

For  the  military  examination  little  was  required  beyond 
physical  culture  and  skill  in  horsemanship  and  archery. 
A  slight  acquaintance  with  the  written  characters  of  the 
Chinese  language  was  desirable,  but  would  not  necessarily 
close  the  door  to  promotion.  A  well-known  Major  General 
in  Peking  under  the  Empire  and  the  Republic  can  neither 
read  nor  write. 

For  the  civil  service  the  examination  was  very  stiff,  but 
was  not  calculated  to  determine  a  man’s  fitness  for  office. 
One  had  to  know  the  written  language  and  be  very  familiar 
with  the  Chinese  classics,  and  with  the  history  and  litera¬ 
ture  of  his  country,  to  pass  such  an  examination.  Once 


442 


The  Era  of  Reform 


a  year  the  County  Magistrate  held  an  examination  in  his 
yamen  of  the  young  men  who  wanted  to  compete  for  ad¬ 
mission  to  the  civil  service.  The  most  promising  students 
were  selected  to  enter  an  examination  the  next  year  at  the 
prefectural  capital.  The  best  of  these  were  given  the  degree 
of  Hsiu  Ts’ai,  commonly  reckoned  by  Europeans  as  a  B.A. 
degree.  This  degree  qualified  the  holder  to  enter  the  lists 
the  third  year  at  the  provincial  capital,  where  thousands 
were  gathered  in  the  great  examination  halls.  I  have 
known  as  many  as  27,000  to  attend  the  examinations  at 
Nanking.  Three  times  for  twenty-four  hours  each  time 
the  student  was  fastened  in  a  cell,  unable  to  communicate 
with  anyone  else,  and  while  there  required  to  write  a  thesis 
or  a  poem  upon  an  assigned  subject.  The  paper  when 
finished  was  enclosed  in  an  envelope  which  was  marked 
with  a  cipher.  Another  envelope  with  the  same  cipher 
contained  the  student ’s  name.  This  was  designed  to  secure 
impartiality  in  the  marking  of  the  papers.  But  no  matter 
how  good  the  papers,  the  number  who  could  be  allowed 
to  pass  was  strictly  limited,  and  of  these  a  fixed  proportion 
had  to  be  Manchus.  Out  of  27,000  not  more  than  three 
hundred  could  obtain  the  degree  of  Chic  Jen.  These  the 
following  year  would  assemble  at  Peking  for  the  metro¬ 
politan  examination,  where  out  of  some  6000  candidates 
about  three  hundred  would  secure  the  degree  of  Tsin 
Shih ,  and  one-third  of  these,  at  a  subsequent  palace  exami¬ 
nation,  would  be  given  the  title  of  Hanlin  and  admitted 
to  the  National  Academy.  From  these  men  were  selected 
the  historiographers  who  compiled  the  dynastic  history. 

The  chief  purpose  of  the  examination,  therefore,  was  to 
prepare  men  to  serve  the  State,  and  nearly  all  the  officials, 
from  District  (or  County)  Magistrate  to  the  Prime  Minis¬ 
ter  obtained  their  appointments  originally  through  this 
method. 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM 

The  edict  of  1902  changed  all  this.  At  the  beginning 
of  1904  the  two  commissioners,  in  a  report  that  filled  eight 


The  Era  of  Reform 


443 


volumes,  submitted  a  scheme  for  a  public  school  system, 
based  upon  that  in  operation  in  Japan,  which  in  turn  was 
derived  from  that  of  the  United  States. 

The  system,  as  submitted  and  approved,  had  this  serious 
defect.  It  made  no  provision  for  the  education  of  girls 
except  that  it  allowed  their  admission  to  the  lowest  grade 
primary.  This  defect  was  corrected  to  some  extent  by  the 
activity  of  the  women  of  China,  who  showed  unexpected 
resourcefulness  in  their  efforts  to  establish  schools  in  their 
own  homes  or  to  establish  free  schools  for  the  daughters 
of  the  poor.  It  was  the  Viceroy  Tuan-fang  who  urged  this 
upon  the  attention  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  and  the  latter 
was  quick  to  respond  to  the  suggestion,  for  she  had  ac¬ 
quired  her  education  for  the  most  part  after  entering  the 
palace.  She  directed  the  Princess  Imperial  to  open  a 
school  in  her  own  palace  for  daughters  of  the  nobility  and 
higher  officials.  This  example  was  followed  by  many  other 
princesses  and  wealthy  women,  and  the  example  of  Peking 
was  followed  in  other  cities,  until  many  of  the  provincial 
governments  themselves  assumed  the  responsibility.  This 
reform  incidentally  led  to  another,  the  abandonment  of 
foot-binding  by  great  numbers  of  Chinese.  The  Empress 
Dowager  was  quick  to  seize  the  opportunity  given  by  the 
opening  of  schools  for  girls  to  have  a  rule  made  that  no 
girl  with  bound  feet  would  be  admitted.  The  desire  for 
education  had  more  influence  upon  the  practice  than  all 
the  imperial  edicts  that  had  previously  been  issued. 

The  school  system  as  approved  in  1904  has  been  slightly 
modified  since  by  the  Republic,  but  has  not  been  changed 
in  any  important  feature.  To-day  the  curriculum  requires 
four  years  for  the  lower  primary  grade,  three  for  the  upper 
primary,  and  four  for  the  middle  school.  From  the  middle 
school  one  can  pass  to  a  normal  school  or  a  manual  train¬ 
ing  school  if  he  so  desires.  Or,  if  he  prefers,  he  may  enter 
the  preparatory  school,  where  after  two  years’  study  he 
may  enter  the  university.  A  five  years’  course  there  fits 
one.  to  enter  a  professional  school. 

It  is  true  that  before  the  Boxer  troubles  spasmodic 
efforts  to  establish  colleges  of  the  modern  type  had  been 


444 


The  Era  of  Reform 


made  by  various  provincial  governments,  but  they  had  not 
met  with  much  success.  They  were  not  connected  with 
any  system  of  elementary  education  which  could  prepare 
students  for  their  courses,  and  as  long  as  the  old  system 
of  examinations  remained,  with  its  chance  of  official  prefer¬ 
ment,  the  new  colleges  did  not  attract  the  best  students. 
Even  after  the  adoption  of  the  new  school  system  it  was 
decided  to  retain  for  a  time  the  old  method  of  competing 
for  degrees,  reducing  from  year  to  year  the  number  of 
degrees  to  be  allowed,  so  making  more  gradual  the  transi¬ 
tion  to  the  new  system.  But  after  an  experience  of  a  year 
and  a  half  this  was  found  to  be  inadvisable,  for  as  long 
as  the  old  avenue  to  honor  stood  open  few  could  be  induced 
to  try  the  more  difficult  path  of  modern  education.  On 
September  1,  1905,  therefore,  an  imperial  edict  appeared 
abolishing  forever  the  age-old  but  outgrown  system  of 
literary  examinations.  The  effect  was  seen  immediately 
in  all  parts  of  the  empire.  Great  zeal  was  shown  in  the 
establishment  of  schools  of  the  new  order.  Special  funds 
for  their  support  were  provided  by  new  provincial  taxes, 
and  these  funds  were  increased  by  gifts  of  the  wealthy  and 
by  popular  subscriptions.  In  many  places  temples  and 
other  public  buildings  belonging  to  the  community  were 
taken  over  for  the  use  of  the  schools.  In  other  places 
village  funds  whose  proceeds  had  theretofore  been  devoted 
to  popular  sports,  to  theatrical  exhibitions  or  religious  cele¬ 
brations  were  directed  to  the  more  beneficial  purpose  of 
popular  education.  The  great  difficulty  Was  to  provide 
teachers.  This  is  still  a  difficulty,  although  the  normal 
schools  now  provide  a  goodly  number  from  year  tc  year. 
The  demand  for  Western  education  led  to  a  great  increase 
in  the  number  of  students  going  abroad.  This  movement 
was  aided  by  the  action  of  the  American  Government, 
which  in  1908  decided  to  return  to  China  a  portion  of  the 
Boxer  indemnity.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  entrance  of  China 
into  the  world  war  the  indemnity  was  being  paid  in  monthly 
installments,  of  which  a  definite  proportion  was  handed 
back  to  China.  The  total  to  be  thus  returned  will  be  more 
than  twelve  million  dollars,  together  with  the  interest 


The  Era  of  Reform 


44  5 


accruing  thereon.  The  Chinese  Government,  to  show  its 
appreciation  of  this  action,  informed  the  American  Govern¬ 
ment  in  1908  that  the  funds  would  be  used  to  educate 
students  in  the  United  States.  To  carry  out  this  plan  the 
Tsing  Hua  College  was  established  in  Peking,  where  a 
constant  group  of  some  400  students,  chosen  by  competi¬ 
tive  examination,  is  prepared  for  entrance  to  American 
universities.  There  are  some  twenty  Chinese  and  twenty 
American  teachers  engaged  in  this  work,  and  the  govern¬ 
ment  has  given  the  school  the  confiscated  grounds  and 
buildings  formerly  belonging  to  an  imperial  prince  who 
was  a  Boxer  leader.  This  was  an  act  of  poetic  justice,  for 
education  is  the  best  antidote  to  Boxer  ism.  These  grounds 
adjoin  the  Yuan  Ming  Yuan,  or  Imperial  Summer  Palace, 
destroyed  by  the  British  and  French  in  1860.  The  college 
has  recently  added  these  historic  grounds  to  its  campus. 

The  disturbances  that  attended  the  revolution  of  1911 
and  1912,  and  the  civil  war  which  has  been  almost  continu¬ 
ous  since  1916,  have  greatly  retarded  the  development  of 
the  school  system.  The  latest  statistics  available  show 
that  there  were  in  1917,  122,286  schools,  with  an  attendance 
of  4,075,338  students.  This  is  to  say  that  of  perhaps  80 
million  children  of  school  age  there  are  only  a  few  more 
than  one  in  twenty  in  government  schools.  Of  these  four 
millions  the  girls  number  but  177,273d  Since  these  statis¬ 
tics  were  compiled  the  education  of  girls  has  been  receiving 
attention  from  the  Government,  and  the  national  univer¬ 
sity  at  Peking  has  opened  its  doors  to  women.  Many  girls, 
however,  are  educated  at  home  and  in  religious  schools. 
The  American  missionaries  have  done  a  great  educational 
work  in  China.  The  missionaries  of  other  countries  also 
have  established  schools,  and  all  these  together  have  sup¬ 
plemented  the  work  of  the  public  schools  in  a  very  effective 
manner. 


MILITARY  REORGANIZATION 

One  of  the  earliest  reforms  to  be  undertaken  was  that 
of  the  army.  Dr.  Wu  T’ing-fang  once  asked  an  Ameri- 

i  Commercial  Handbook  of  China.  Julean  Arnold.  Yol.  2,  p.  412. 


446 


The  Era  of  Reform 


can  friend  what  reform  should  be  undertaken  by  China 
first  of  all.  The  friend  replied:  “Why,  the  educational, 
of  course.’’  “Oh  no,”  said  the  Minister,  “While  we  are 
getting  the  children  educated  you  Western  men  will  come 
and  take  our  country  away  from  us.  The  first  thing  to 
do  is  to  build  up  an  army.  ’  ’ 

There  was  much  reason  in  this  statement.  Japan  had 
won  the  recognition  of  the  European  powers,  not  by  her 
educational  system  nor  by  improved  administration,  but 
by  the  creation  of  a  great  army  and  navy  and  the  waging 
of  successful  war.  On  the  other  hand  China’s  military 
weakness  had  invited  aggressive  encroachment  upon  her 
sovereign  rights  and  led  to  the  loss  of  some  of  her  best 
ports. 

For  centuries  the  Chinese  had  been  taught  to  despise 
the  military  art.  I  have  already  quoted  a  common  proverb 
which  says,  “Nails  are  not  made  of  good  iron  nor  soldiers 
of  good  men.”  In  China  this  once  was  true.  Nails  were 
hammered  out  of  scrap  iron,  and  soldiers  gathered  from 
the  human  scrap-heap.  Before  the  war  with  Japan  the 
Chinese  army,  for  the  most  part,  was  a  rabble.  To  a  con¬ 
siderable  extent  it  existed  on  paper  only.  When  the 
inspector  was  about  to  visit  a  camp  he  sent  notice  in  ad¬ 
vance,  so  that  the  commanding  officer  would  have  time 
to  send  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and,  for  a  few 
cents  a  day,  line  up  a  sufficient  number  of  idle  men  to 
fill  the  ranks.  A  military  jacket  was  loaned  to  each  one 
and  a  musket  or  spear  placed  in  his  hands.  He  could 
then  stand  up  and  be  counted.  After  the  inspection  many 
were  discharged,  and  the  monthly  pay  of  the  missing 
found  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  the  officers. 

Often  prior  to  the  war  between  China  and  Japan  I 
watched  the  drilling  of  the  troops.  Every  fifth  man  carried 
a  long  bamboo  spear  decorated  with  a  red  pennon.  The 
rest  were  armed  with  muzzle-loading  muskets.  When  these 
had  fired  their  guns  they  would  fall  back  a  few  paces  to 
give  place  to  the  spearmen,  who  rushed  forward  with 
blood-curdling  yells  and  brandished  their  weapons  to  hold 
off  the  enemy  until  the  muskets  were  re-loaded.  The 


The  Era  of  Reform 


447 


Manchu  banner  men  formed  a  separate  organization.  They 
were  descendants  of  the  conquerers  of  China,  and  prided 
themselves  on  their  horsemanship  and  archery,  but  they 
were  as  unfit  for  modern  warfare  as  the  bowmen  that 
followed  the  Black  Prince  would  have  been. 

Before  the  war  of  1894  with  Japan  there  were  some 
modern  troops  in  China,  but  they  were  very  few.  The 
army  that  was  led  against  the  Japanese  was  a  conglomera¬ 
tion  of  provincial  levies,  some  with  one  equipment  and 
some  with  another,  all  utterly  unfit  for  real  service.  By 
1900,  when  the  Boxer  rising  occurred,  some  improvement 
had  been  made,  but  each  Viceroy  had  his  own  army,  and 
these  armies  were  organized  upon  different  models  and 
carried  rifles  of  various  patterns. 

The  defeat  of  these  troops  and  the  Boxers  in  1900  rein¬ 
forced  the  lesson  taught  by  the  war  with  Japan,  and  con¬ 
vinced  the  authorities  that  their  attitude  towards  the  mil¬ 
itary  had  to  be  changed.  Christian  nations  had  taught 
the  Chinese  that  the  art  of  war  was  not  to  be  despised, 
and  that  without  a  powerful  army  China  was  in  danger 
of  losing  its  independence.  Systematic  efforts  were  made 
to  develop  the  martial  spirit.  Military  training  became 
compulsory  in  the  public  schools.  Sons  of  the  nobles  and 
high  officials  were  encouraged  to  take  up  the  military 
career,  and  a  special  school  for  cadets  of  such  families  was 
opened  in  Peking.  The  whole  army  was  reorganized  upon 
a  new  basis.  It  was  made  national,  no  longer  a  collection 
of  provincial  forces,  and  it  was  placed  under  the  direct 
control  of  a  general  staff  at  Peking.  Moreover  the  rabble 
was  excluded.  Every  recruit  was  required  to  bring  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  respectability  of  his  family  and  had  to  be  able 
to  read  and  write.  He  was  given  a  regular  course  of 
instruction,  had  to  take  notes  and  pass  examination  upon 
the  lectures  given,  and  was  thoroughly  and  constantly 
drilled  in  the  manual  of  arms  and  required  to  take  daily 
exercise  in  the  gymnasium.  He  was  smartly  dressed, 
fairly  well  paid  and  kept  under  strict  discipline. 

The  result  was  shown  in  the  annual  maneuvers,  which 
received  very  favorable  comment  from  European  critics. 


448 


The  Era  of  Reform 


The  efficiency  of  the  troops  was  tested  during  the  revolu¬ 
tion.  The  northern  army  in  particular  made  a  very  good 
showing.  It  was  pretty  well  officered  and  was  kept  well 
in  hand.  It  showed  more  efficiency,  perhaps,  than  the 
revolutionary  forces  of  the  south,  and  on  the  whole  appears 
to  have  been  more  amenable  to  discipline.  The  difference 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  troops  nearest  Peking  had 
received  most  attention  from  the  government.  After  the 
revolution  the  republican  government  continued  the  work 
begun  by  the  Manchus,  but  civil  war,  which  has  almost 
bankrupted  the  nation,  has  made  it  impossible  to  provide 
the  funds  needed  for  the  support  of  the  troops  and  the 
improvement  of  their  equipment.  Nevertheless,  the  army 
does  not  lack  some  of  the  most  modern  inventions.  Aero¬ 
planes  were  frequently  seen  over  Peking  in  the  maneuvers 
of  1912  and  1913,  and  recent  fighting  between  the  con¬ 
tending  forces  has  been  made  with  the  aid  of  machine  guns. 

The  Washington  Conference  adopted  a  resolution  advis¬ 
ing  China  to  reduce  the  forces  under  her  warring  tu  chilns, 
or  military  governors.  This  action  to  some,  however, 
appears  rather  ludicrous  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first 
place  the  Peking  Government  has  shown  itself  powerless 
to  control  these  warring  factions.  Eepeated  orders  to 
halt  their  movements  have  been  ignored.  The  exhortation 
is  useless.  Secondly,  the  total  strength  of  the  combined 
armies  of  China,  if  we  accept  the  maximum  estimate  of 
a  million,  gives  her  but  one  soldier  to  every  400  of  the 
population,  while  some  of  the  powers  that  criticised  are 
supporting  in  time  of  peace  one  soldier  to  40  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  and  others  one  to  217.  If  it  be  said  that  China  is 
wasting  money  on  military  forces  that  should  be  used  to 
pay  her  debts,  what  should  be  said  of  other  powers  main¬ 
taining  huge  armies  that  are  making  no  effort  to  pay  the 
interest  on  their  debts?  It  is  a  pity  to  see  China  wasting 
her  strength  in  suicidal  conflict,  but  Western  aggression 
has  made  impressive  the  truth  that  “When  a  strong  man 
armed  keepeth  his  palace  his  goods  are  in  peace.  ’  ’ 


TSING  HUA  COLLEGE,  PEKING  —  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  RETURNED  BOXER  INDEMNITY. 


BARRICADE,  NEAR  AMERICAN  LEGATION  DURING  BOXER  RISING 


The  Era  of  Reform 


449 


JURIDICAL  REFORM 

Scarcely  any  reform  initiated  at  the  time  was  more  im¬ 
portant  than  that  of  the  penal  code  and  the  courts.  The 
chief  reason  influencing  the  government  in  the  matter  was 
the  enjoyment  by  the  foreign  powers  of  a  right  of  extra¬ 
territorial  jurisdiction  over  their  nationals  in  China.  In 
1902  a  Commission  on  Juridical  Reform  was  established 
by  imperial  edict,  at  the  head  of  which  the  Empress  Dow¬ 
ager  appointed  Dr.  Wu  T’ing-fang,  so  long  the  Chinese 
Minister  in  Washington,  who  had  studied  law  in  London 
and  was  familiar  with  Western  codes,  and  Shen  Chia-pen, 
the  greatest  authority  at  that  time  on  Chinese  law.  Their 
report  was  made  and  adopted  in  1905.  It  pointed  out 
very  truthfully  that,  while  the  criminal  code  of  China  was 
more  severe  than  those  of  the  West,  the  situation  had 
earlier  been  just  the  reverse;  that  Western  nations  in 
recent  times  had  modified  their  laws  and  made  them  more 
humane,  and  that  Europeans  and  Americans  now  were  un¬ 
willing  to  submit  themselves  to  the  severer  laws  of  China. 
The  memorialists  referred  to  the  exercise  by  foreign  states 
of  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  in  China  as  an  encroach¬ 
ment  upon  the  sovereignty  of  China,  and  quoted  the 
treaty  of  1903  with  the  United  States,  and  treaties  with 
certain  other  powers  also,  as  promising  to  surrender  their 
extraterritorial  jurisdiction  whenever  China  should  reform 
her  code  and  courts. 


EXTRATERRITORIALITY 

Writers  upon  the  subject  of  extraterritoriality  usually 
find  its  origin  in  the  relations  between  Turkey  and  the 
European  states ;  but  the  privileges  granted  to  the  Christian 
Powers  of  Europe  by  the  victorious  Mohammed  II  cannot 
be  regarded  as  a  confession  of  weakness  on  his  part.  Rather 
his  grant  of  jurisdiction  should  be  looked  upon  as  a  formal 
recognition  of  a  principle  that  was  of  very  general  applica¬ 
tion,  and  a  practice  whose  roots  strike  far  into  the  past, 


450 


The  Era  of  Reform 


when  sovereignty  was  regarded  as  personal  and  having 
nothing  to  do  with  geographical  boundaries. 

Hall’s  observation  that  “to  the  Oriental  mind  a  personal 
law  is  more  familiar  and  appears  more  natural  than  a 
territorial  law”2  was  true  rather  of  the  Near  East  than 
of  the  Far  East.  China  apparently  arrived  at  the  con¬ 
ception  of  sovereignty  as  territorial  long  before  Europe 
did.  Indeed  the  practice  of  the  West  is  not  even  now  con¬ 
sistent  with  its  theory  of  sovereignty  as  territorial,  for 
many  Western  nations  insist  still  upon  a  claim  to  the  mil¬ 
itary  service  of  foreign  born  children  of  their  subjects, 
although  these  children  claim  citizenship  in  the  land  of 
their  birth. 

It  was  feudalism  that  introduced  into  Europe  the 
principle  and  practice  of  authority  limited  by  territorial 
boundaries.  With  the  fall  of  Rome  these  territorial  lords 
became  independent,  but  continued  to  regard  themselves 
as  rulers  of  territory  rather  than  peoples. 

China  many  centuries  before  Christ  reached  this  con¬ 
ception  of  sovereignty  as  territorial  by  a  very  similar  ex¬ 
perience.  The  Chou  Dynasty  in  1122  B.C.  divided  the 
empire  among  feudal  lords,  who  in  return  rendered  mili¬ 
tary  service  to  the  Emperor.  Their  jurisdiction  was 
limited  by  the  boundaries  of  their  territories.  They  gradu¬ 
ally  became  independent  of  the  central  state,  made  war 
one  upon  another,  and  established  treaties  with  one  an¬ 
other  in  which  they  recognized  the  territorial  sovereignty 
one  of  another,  provided  for  extradition  and  arranged  for 
interchange  of  commodities.  When  one  of  these  states,  in 
249  B.C.,  swallowed  up  all  the  others,  it  carried  over  into 
the  new  empire  the  conception  of  sovereignty  as  territorial, 
and  this  conception  persisted  into  recent  times.  The  Man- 
chus  allowed  the  peoples  of  their  dependencies  to  govern 
themselves  by  their  own  laws,  but  always  and  only  upon 
the  recognition  of  China  as  sovereign.  European  nations 
at  the  time  of  their  first  intercourse  with  China  held  con¬ 
fused  notions  upon  the  subject  of  sovereignty,  generally 
insisting  on  territorial  jurisdiction  themselves  but  also  at 

2 Hall’s  “Foreign  Jurisdiction  q£  jtlie  British  Crown/’  p.  133. 


451 


The  Era  of  Reform 

times  attempting  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  their  own 
people  in  other  lands.  The  British  Parliament  in  1773 
empowered  the  king  to  erect  a  supreme  court  at  Calcutta, 
without  seeking  the  consent  of  the  titular  ruler  3  In  China, 
as  a  rule,  they  were  compelled  to  allow  the  local  govern¬ 
ment  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  their  subjects,  but  often 
they  resisted  its  authority  and  endeavored  to  supplant  it.  It 
was  only  after  defeat  in  war  that  China  consented  to  sur¬ 
render  jurisdiction.  The  humiliation,  however,  is  one  that 
has  rankled  in  the  breasts  of  the  Chinese  ever  since.  Thus 
the  movement  of  1902  to  revise  the  code  with  a  view  to 
the  abolition  of  extraterritoriality  was  a  very  natural  one. 

REVISION  OF  THE  CRIMINAL  CODE 

In  May,  1905,  the  commissioners  made  a  partial  report 
to  the  throne  which  was  approved.  This  report  recom¬ 
mended  the  abolition  of  certain  cruel  forms  of  punishment 
and  the  substitution  of  others  more  humane.  Briefly,  the 
sentence  to  a  “lingering  death,”  or  “the  death  of  a  thou¬ 
sands  cuts,”  was  abolished.  Decapitation  was  substituted, 
and  it  was  forbidden  to  expose  the  head  after  execution, 
as  had  been  customary  in  certain  cases.  Branding,  beating 
with  the  bamboo,  and  wearing  of  the  cangue,  or  wooden 
collar,  were  also  abolished.  Instead  of  these  penalties 
imprisonment  at  hard  labor  was  substituted.  Such  im¬ 
prisonment,  too,  replaced  the  old  sentences  to  exile  within 
the  limits  of  one’s  native  province  and  deportation  to  the 
frontiers  with  military  servitude. 

Torture  of  criminals  and  witnesses,  once  very  common, 
was  forbidden,  except  in  the  case  of  a  criminal  convicted 
of  a  capital  offense.  The  old  law,  as  stated  in  another 
chapter,4  required  confession  of  guilt  before  execution, 
and  if  the  hardened  criminal  wrould  not  confess  he  could 
be  persuaded  by  torture  to  do  so. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  the  reform  has 
been  carried  much  further.  Torture  is  now  forbidden  in 

3  Westlake,  “Private  International  Law,”  p.  96  (139). 

4  Chapter  VII. 


452 


The  Era  of  Reform 


all  cases.  An  entirely  new  criminal  code  has  been  drawn 
up  based  upon  the  continental  practice  in  Europe,  and 
a  civil  code  as  well  as  a  code  of  procedure  have  also  been 
prepared.  These,  although  tentatively  adopted,  have  yet 
to  secure  the  approval  of  Parliament. 

NEW  PRISONS 

The  Manchu  reform  also  included  the  building  of  modern 
prisons.  Quite  a  number  of  these  have  already  been  com¬ 
pleted.  One  of  the  first  was  that  erected  by  the  Viceroy, 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  at  Tientsin.  It  is  a  model  prison,  clean, 
sanitary  and  well-managed,  with  night  schools  for  the 
younger  inmates,  who  are  taught  reading,  writing  and 
elementary  mathematics,  and  with  workshops  where  all  are 
required  to  labor  at  certain  trades,  such  as  cabinet-making, 
tailoring,  embroidery  and  black-smithing.  Moral  instruc¬ 
tion  is  given  daily  by  an  officer  who  corresponds  in  his 
functions  somewhat  to  a  Western  chaplain. 

LAW  SCHOOLS  AND  LAW  COURTS 

The  need  of  properly  trained  judges  led  at  once  to  the 
establishment  of  law  schools,  and  with  the  development  of 
the  public  school  system  and  the  education  of  many  stu¬ 
dents  abroad  the  improvement  of  the  courts  ought  to  be 
manifest.  The  troubles  that  have  afflicted  the  country 
in  recent  years,  however,  have  checked  progress  in  this 
direction. 

A  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  establishment  of  the 
new  courts,  and  these  are  no  longer  under  the  control  of 
the  administrative  officers.  The  Manchu  Government 
adopted  the  principle  of  a  separation  of  the  functions  of 
the  executive  and  judicial  branches  of  the  government,  and 
to  these  the  Republic  has  added  a  third  branch,  the  legis¬ 
lative.  There  are  courts  of  first  instance  in  all  county 
towns,  with  appeal  to  the  provincial  high  courts,  and  from 
there  to  the  supreme  court  at  Peking.  But  in  many  places 
this  reform  still  exists  only  in  theory.  The  old  courts 


The  Era  of  Reform  453 

still  function.  Men  and  money  are  lacking  for  the  changes 
needed. 

THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  FOREIGN  POWERS 

Despite  the  efforts  of  China  to  reform  her  codes  and 
courts,  the  Western  powers  are  still  unwilling  to  place 
their  citizens  and  subjects  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Chinese  courts. 

In  1906  the  United  States  greatly  improved  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  justice  in  its  extraterritorial  courts  in  China 
by  creating  a  United  States  Court  for  China.  This 
sits  generally  at  Shanghai,  but  also  makes  periodical  visits 
to  other  cities.  But  the  best  possible  administration  of 
justice  in  such  courts  leaves  something  to  be  desired.  The 
various  nations  represented  in  China  have  different  codes 
and  different  methods  of  procedure.  Persons  guilty  of 
identical  offenses  are  punished  severely  in  one  court  and 
leniently  in  another.  In  1901  two  Chinese,  two  Americans, 
one  Englishman,  and  a  Dane  were  engaged  in  a  case  of’ 
robbery  and  murder  at  T’ungchou,  near  Peking.  The  two 
Chinese  were  beheaded  within  twenty-four  hours.  The 
two  Americans  sent  to  Tientsin  for  trial,  were  sentenced 
to  four  years  in  the  penitentiary  at  Fort  Leavenworth. 
The  Consul  did  not  have  power  of  life  and  death.  The 
Englishman  was  held  for  the  next  session  of  the  British 
court  at  Tientsin,  a  delay  of  six  months.  The  witnesses 
neglected  to  appear  and  he  was  discharged.  The  Danish 
Government  had  no  arrangements  for  trial  and  the  Dane 
was  discharged. 

These  foreign  courts,  moreover,  cannot  compel  the  at¬ 
tendance  of  witnesses  of  another  nationality,  and  this  some¬ 
times  makes  judgment  difficult.  The  consular  courts  are 
often  far  from  the  scene  of  the  crime,  and  Chinese  will 
suffer  in  silence  rather  than  take  the  long  journey  from 
home  necessary  to  the  laying  of  complaint  before  a  foreign 
court. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  the  Chinese  at  the  Wash¬ 
ington  Conference  urged  the  withdrawal  of  these  courts 
by  the  powers  represented  at  that  conference.  After  some 


/ 


454 


The  Era  of  Reform 


discussion  it  was  resolved  to  constitute  a  commission  to 
visit  China  to  study  the  situation  at  first  hand  and  recom¬ 
mend  measures  to  be  taken  with  a  view  to  the  eventual 
restoration  to  China  of  that  territorial  jurisdiction  which 
should  belong  to  her  as  a  sovereign  state  in  the  modern 
world.  It  is  not  improbable  that  some  arrangement  will 
be  made  for  the  gradual  transfer  of  jurisdiction,  similar 
to  that  adopted  in  Siam  by  the  British,  French  and  Ameri¬ 
can  treaties  with  that  state. 

CURRENCY  REFORM 

An  attempt  was  also  made  to  reform  the  currency.  In 
our  commercial  treaty  of  1903  China  had  agreed  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  uniform  currency,  so  necessary  to  the  promotion  of 
commerce.  The  United  States  was  interested  also  in  sta¬ 
bilizing  the  ratio  between  gold  and  silver.  The  fluctuations 
at  that  time  were  rapid  and  great.  Accordingly  in  Janu¬ 
ary,  1904,  the  American  Government  sent  Professor  Jere¬ 
miah  W.  Jenks  to  China  to  study  the  situation.  He  spent 
some  months  there  and  recommended  a  gold  exchange  system 
similar  to  that  in  use  in  the  Philippines.  But  his  advice 
was  not  accepted  by  China. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  confusion  that  exists  in 
China  due  to  the  variety  of  monies  in  use,  the  different 
standards  of  weight  and  fineness  used  in  the  valuation  of 
silver,  the  many  kinds  of  dollars  in  circulation,  and  the 
unwillingness  of  the  people  to  accept  a  token  coinage.  The 
proposed  reform,  therefore,  was  one  of  great  importance, 
but  it  remains  still  unaccomplished.  In  1905  an  imperial 
edict  appeared  authorizing  the  minting  of  a  silver  and 
copper  currency,  to  be  uniform  throughout  the  empire, 
but  the  edict  was  not  carried  into  effect.  In  1910  the 
Chinese  Government  requested  the  American  Government 
to  arrange  with  American  bankers  for  a  loan  of  fifty 
million  taels  for  the  purpose  of  currency  reform.  A  group 
of  American  bankers  was  willing  to  make  the  loan,  but 
this  group  of  bankers  had  already  entered  into  an  agree¬ 
ment  with  certain  British,  French  and  German  groups 


The  Era  of  Reform 


4  55 


of  bankers  to  share  all  business  obtained  in  China.  The 
Chinese  Government,  after  some  correspondence,  consented 
to  such  an  arrangement,  and  the  negotiations  were  con¬ 
ducted,  therefore,  with  the  Four-Power  Group,  as  it  was 
called.  A  coinage  system  was  arranged,  the  dollar  being 
the  unit,  and  minting  regulations  as  to  weight  and  fine¬ 
ness  were  adopted.  The  Chinese  Government,  in  apply¬ 
ing  to  the  United  States,  had  promised  the  appointment 
of  an  American  financial  adviser.  When  the  matter  came 
up  in  the  negotiations  considerable  jealousy  developed  at 
once  among  the  four  powers  that  were  supporting  these 
groups,  each  unwilling  that  either  of  the  others  should 
have  the  advisership.  It  was  finally  agreed  that  the  office 
should  go  to  some  small  state  not  represented  in  the  nego¬ 
tiations.  Mr.  Vissering,  President  of  the  Java  Bank  of 
Amsterdam,  was  chosen.  His  experience  with  monetary 
affairs  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  qualified  him  in  an  espe¬ 
cial  manner  for  the  post.  A  contract  was  drawn  up  and 
initialed,  but  Mr.  Vissering  desired  some  assurance  re¬ 
garding  his  rank  vis-a-vis  the  diplomatic  representatives 
at  Peking,  and  while  this  matter  was  being  adjusted  the 
revolution  of  1911  broke  out  and  the  proposed  reform 
was  pushed  aside.  During  the  negotiations  the  amount 
of  the  proposed  loan  had  been  increased  from  fifty  million 
taels  to  fifty  million  gold  dollars,  in  order  to  include  a  sum 
needed  for  financial  readjustment  in  the  Manchurian  prov¬ 
inces.  An  advance  of  four  hundred  thousand  pounds 
was  made  for  this  purpose  before  the  conclusion  of  the 
negotiations.  This  loan  of  four  hundred  thousand  pounds 
was  extended  from  time  to  time  for  six-month  periods; 
but  in  June,  1917,  the  American  Group  surrendered  its 
interest  in  the  proposed  currency  loan,  and  obtained  a 
settlement  of  its  share  in  the  advance.  The  American 
Government,  however,  at  once  reminded  China  that  the 
application  for  a  loan  for  currency  reform  had  been  made 
originally  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  not 
to  any  particular  group  of  American  bankers,  and  the 
Chinese  Government  was  requested  to  take  note  that 
American  interest  in  the  proposed  loan  was  not  abandoned. 


456 


The  Era  of  Reform 


The  action  of  the  American  Group  will  be  more  easily 
understood  when  it  is  remembered  that  these  banks  had 
been  interested  in  the  Chinese  Reorganization  loan  of  1913, 
but  had  withdrawn  from  the  six-power  group  that  was 
negotiating  that  loan  because  the  administration  of  Presi¬ 
dent  Wilson  had  declined  to  continue  the  support  which 
the  preceding  administration  had  given  to  those  negotia¬ 
tions.  The  same  banks  were  also  interested  in  the  loan 
which  was  made  in  1911  for  the  Hukuang  Railways.  That 
interest  is  still  retained.  After  the  surrender  by  the 
American  banks  of  their  interest  in  the  currency  loan  the 
Japanese  asked  for  a  share  in  the  proposed  loan  and,  it 
is  understood,  were  allowed  an  interest.  Baron  Sakatani, 
too,  was  mentioned  very  favorably  for  the  post  of  financial 
adviser,  but  thus  far  nothing  has  come  of  the  negotiations. 
Chinese  monetary  and  fiscal  reform  both  seem  as  remote 
as  ever. 

ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY 

One  great  social  reform  was  accomplished  before  the 
Manchus  lost  the  throne.  That  was  the  abolition  of  slavery 
by  an  imperial  edict  of  1910.  Slavery  in  China  was  an 
inheritance  from  a  very  ancient  past,  and  its  abolition  was 
attended  by  many  difficulties.  A  Chinese  proverb  says: 
“Old  customs  may  not  be  broken.”  Vested  interests  in  all 
lands  are  of  course  arrayed  against  reform. 

In  China  under  the  old  Manchu  code  the  people  were 
divided  into  four  classes;  banner-men,  free  Chinese  sub¬ 
jects,  out-castes,  and  slaves.  To  these  we  may  add  a  fifth, 
the  aborigines  of  the  south  and  west,  who  were  governed 
by  their  own  chieftains. 

The  banner-men  included  the  descendants  of  the  Man¬ 
chus,  Mongols  and  Chinese  who  were  associated  in  the 
Manchu  conquest  of  1644.  They  enjoyed  special  privileges. 
They  drew  pensions,  were  required  to  bear  arms,  and  were 
forbidden  to  engage  in  trade.  Prior  to  the  legal  reform 
of  1905  they  were  subject  only  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Manchu  code.  The  free  Chinese  made  up  the  mass  of  the 


The  Era  of  Reform 


457 


inhabitants,  the  farmers,  artisans  and  merchants,  as  well 
as  a  majority  of  the  gentry  and  officials.  The  out-castes 
were  Chinese  subjects  engaged  in  degrading  occupations 
which  subjected  them  to  certain  disabilities.  These  were 
the  actors,  beggars,  chair-bearers,  barbers,  lictors  and  pros¬ 
titutes.  Besides  these  there  were  the  to  min,  a  despised 
class  of  pariahs  of  unknown  origin,  in  Chekiang  Province. 
The  disabilities  of  the  last  were  removed  in  1903,  and  at¬ 
tempts  have  been  made  at  various  times  to  improve  the 
condition  of  others.  Up  to  the  close  of  the  Manchu  rule, 
however,  they  were  excluded  from  the  civil  service  ex¬ 
aminations  and  were  not  allowed  to  hold  office  until  after 
three  generations  of  ancestors  had  pursued  honorable  call¬ 
ings. 

Slaves  were  of  three  sorts:  (1)  household  servants  sold 
into  slavery  by  their  parents  or  guardians,  and  descendants 
of  such  slaves;  (2)  serfs  attached  to  the  estates  of  Manchu 
nobles.  These  serfs  were  descendants  of  the  former  owners 
of  the  land  who,  at  the  time  of  the  Manchu  conquest,  sur¬ 
rendered  themselves  and  their  property  to  some  Manchu 
lord  in  return  for  his  protection,  and  (3)  criminals  sen¬ 
tenced  to  military  servitude  in  punishment  for  crime.  In 
this  class  descendants  of  such  criminals  were  included. 
They  suffered  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers. 

Besides  these  there  was  a  class  known  as  pao  i,  who  were 
retainers  of  the  Manchu  nobles,  and  who  were  bound  to 
render  suit  and  service,  but  they  were  not  slaves  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  that  word.  They  were  admitted  to  the 
examinations  and  often  held  office. 

The  edict  of  1910  was  not  wholly  satisfactory.  It  set 
free  the  slaves  of  the  Chinese,  but  the  Manchus  would  not 
consent  to  free  the  serfs  from  their  obligation  to  cultivate 
the  soil.  They  were,  however,  given  the  status  of  hired 
laborers  and  could  no  longer  be  tried  by  the  old  slave  code. 
But  they  were  restricted  in  their  movements.  They  were 
required  to  remain  on  the  land.  The  pao  i,  too,  were  held 
to  their  duties.  Further  purchase  and  sale  of  men  and 
women  was  absolutely  forbidden,  but,  to  provide  for  the 
relief  of  distress  in  time  of  famine,  parents  were  allowed 


458 


The  Era  of  Reform 


to  bind  out  tbeir  children  for  a  term  of  years.  Such 
children  could  be  redeemed  if  parents  should  be  able  later 
to  repay  the  debt,  and  in  any  case  they  were  to  be  set  free 
at  twenty -five  years  of  age. 

Concubinage  was  frowned  upon  but  not  absolutely  for¬ 
bidden.  The  purchase  of  a  concubine  was,  however,  not 
allowed.  If  a  man  took  a  concubine  he  was  required  to 
marry  her  according  to  legal  forms  duly  witnessed. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic,  of  course,  no 
form  of  slavery  is  tolerated  by  the  law. 


THE  ANTI-OPIUM  REFORM 

To  the  Manchus  belongs  also  the  initiation  of  one  of  the 
greatest  moral  reforms  ever  undertaken.  An  earlier  chapter 
has  already  told  of  the  introduction  of  the  poppy  into 
China  by  the  Arabs  in  the  8th  century  A.D.,  and  of  the 
use  of  a  decoction  of  poppy  seed  as  an  exhilarating  drink. 
Mention  was  made,  too,  of  the  subsequent  import  of  opium 
for  medicinal  purposes  and  the  beginning  of  opium  smok¬ 
ing.  After  the  Chinese  Government,  in  the  treaties  of 
1858,  had  agreed  to  legalize  the  traffic,  the  production  of 
opium  in  China  soon  outstripped  the  import  of  the  foreign 
drug.  The  demoralizing  effects  of  the  vice  of  opium  smok¬ 
ing  can  be  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have  lived  in 
close  association  with  the  Chinese,  and  witnessed  the  deg¬ 
radation  and  misery  caused  by  it.  The  Empress  Dowager, 
in  1906,  made  a  heroic  effort  to  suppress  the  vice  and 
return  to  the  early  attitude  of  the  dynasty  toward  the 
traffic.  The  import  of  opium  in  1906  was  54,475  piculs, 
or  7,263,333  lbs.  The  native  production  no  one  knew,  but 
a  moderate  estimate  based  upon  the  reports  of  observers 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  placed  it  at  175,000  piculs,  or 
23,333,333  lbs.,  more  than  three  times  the  import. 

The  income  to  the  government  from  the  taxes  on  the 
native  and  imported  drug  was  about  Tls.  20,000,000  a  year, 
i.e.,  about  U.  S.  $15,000,000.  Yet  the  government  de¬ 
liberately  determined  to  sacrifice  this  revenue  in  order  to 


The  Era  of  Reform 


459 


rid  the  country  of  the  awful  curse.  On  September  20th 
of  the  year  mentioned  an  edict  appeared  outlining  a  pro¬ 
gramme  for  the  progressive  decrease,  during  a  period  of 
ten  years,  of  the  production  of  opium,  by  a  corresponding 
decrease  in  the  acreage  of  poppy  culture.  At  the  same 
time  measures  were  to  be  taken  for  the  gradual  suppression 
of  opium  smoking.  Briefly  these  measures  were  (1)  to 
register  all  opium  smokers  under  60  years  of  age,  with  the 
amount  consumed  daily  by  each;  (2)  to  register  all  opium 
dealers  and  the  amount  of  their  sales,  and  forbid  all  sales 
except  to  licensed  smokers  and  only  to  the  amount  of  the 
daily  consumption  allowed;  (3)  the  smoker’s  allowance 
was  to  be  reduced  at  each  renewal  of  the  license;  (4)  the 
dealer’s  license  to  sell  limited  the  amount  to  be  sold  and 
reduced  it  year  by  year;  (5)  all  opium  smoking  dens  were 
to  be  closed  within  six  months.  It  is  regrettable  to  have 
to  note  that  the  foreign  settlements  at  the  ports  of  China 
were  among  the  last  to  close  these  dens.  Municipal  revenues 
from  licenses  were  at  stake. 

For  a  time  the  Chinese  made  remarkable  progress  in 
the  reform.  To  succeed  in  this  attempted  reform  it  was 
necessary  to  have  the  assistance  of  other  powers.  There 
was  danger  that  the  abandonment  of  opium  smoking  might 
be  followed  by  the  use  of  morphia.  The  treaty  powers 
were  therefore  asked,  in  1907,  to  agree  to  the  prohibition, 
except  under  a  physician’s  certificate,  of  all  imports  of 
morphia  and  of  hypodermic  syringes  used  for  its  injection. 
The  powers  agreed.  It  was  useless,  too,  to  forbid  poppy 
culture  unless  the  import  of  foreign  opium  could  be 
ehecked.  The  British  Government  was  approached  and 
promptly  gave  its  assistance  by  arranging  for  an  annual 
reduction  of  5100  piculs  in  the  import,  which  would  ex¬ 
tinguish  the  trade  in  ten  years  or  less. 

But  China  made  more  rapid  progress  than  was  antici¬ 
pated.  Gradual  reduction  of  poppy  culture  was  found  to 
be  impracticable;  some  growers  would  profit  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  others.  The  governors  of  certain  provinces  pro¬ 
hibited  any  cultivation  at  all  of  the  plant.  This  resulted 
in  1911  in  a  revision  of  the  agreement  with  Great  Britain, 


460 


The  Era  of  Reform 


excluding  foreign  opium  altogether  from  those  provinces 
where  poppy  culture  had  ceased.  In  this  way  in  a  very 
short  time  a  large  part  of  the  empire  was  closed  to  the 
import.  The  dealers  in  Shanghai  made  a  great  noise  and 
tried  to  insist  upon  importation.  For  a  time  four  provinces 
w^ere  left  open  to  the  traffic.  Subsequently  these  also  were 
closed,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  opium  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  merchants. 

Before  this  situation  disclosed  itself  the  American  Gov¬ 
ernment  became  directly  interested  in  the  reform.  Opium 
smoking  was  common  among  the  Chinese  in  the  Philippines, 
and  our  government  wanted  to  have  the  vice  suppressed. 
Proposal  was  made  to  the  powers  interested  in  Far  Eastern 
affairs  that  a  commission  should  meet  at  Shanghai  to  study 
the  question  and  recommend  measures  to  be  taken  to  aid 
the  crusade. 

One  man,  Dr.  Hamilton  Wright,  more  than  any  other, 
was  responsible  for  the  energy  with  which  the  matter  was 
pushed.  The  International  Commission  met  at  Shanghai 
on  February  1st,  1909,  and  on  the  26th  of  that  month 
unanimously  adopted  nine  resolutions.  Briefly  they  recog¬ 
nized  the  sincerity  of  China’s  efforts  to  effect  this  reform, 
and  recommended  the  governments  represented  each  to 
take  measures  to  suppress  the  vice  in  its  own  territories. 
It  urged  them  to  prohibit  the  use  of  opium  for  any  but 
medicinal  purposes,  and  to  prevent  the  shipment  of  the 
drug  to  any  country  that  prohibited  the  import.  It  called 
attention  also  to  the  grave  danger  arising  from  the  dis¬ 
tribution  and  use  of  morphia.  The  governments  concerned 
were  asked  to  close  all  opium  dens  in  their  settlements  in 
China,  and  apply  to  their  citizens  and  subjects  in  China 
their  domestic  pharmacy  laws.  This  last  would  make  it 
possible  to  punish  in  the  extraterritorial  courts  in  China 
those  foreigners  who  were  obstructing  the  reform. 

The  American  Government  was  quick  to  adopt  the  legis¬ 
lation  recommended  and,  following  up  the  measures  ad- 
ready  taken,  requested  the  government  of  the  Netherlands 
to  invite  the  powers  concerned  to  an  international  con¬ 
ference  at  The  Hague.  ‘This  conference  met  in  December, 


461 


The  Era  of  Reform 

1911,  and  was  attended  by  representatives  of  twelve  powers. 
On  January  23d,  1912,  the  conference  adopted  a  convention 
designed  to  secure  the  legislation  needed  to  bring  about 
the  suppression  of  the  abuse  of  opium,  morphia,  cocaine 
and  other  habit-forming  drugs.  But  since  there  were  but 
twelve  powers  signing  the  convention  some  of  these  were 
unwilling  to  ratify  it  unless  the  governments  of  the  world 
generally  should  also  agree  to  support  the  movement.  Ac¬ 
cordingly  the  American  Government  at  once  asked  and 
obtained  the  cooperation  of  all  other  American  republics. 
A  second  conference  met  at  the  Hague  on  July  1,  1913, 
when  it  was  learned  that  there  were  still  several  European 
and  Asiatic  governments  that  had  not  signed  the  conven¬ 
tion.  This  caused  further  delay.  A  third  conference  was 
then  called  for  1914,  and  met  at  The  Hague  on  June  15th. 
It  then  appeared  that  44  out  of  the  46  governments  invited 
had  signed  the  convention.  Turkey  and  Serbia  alone  re¬ 
fused.  Of  those  signing  only  eleven  had  ratified.  A  pro¬ 
tocol  was  then  drawn  up  and  left  at  The  Hague,  which 
provided  that  any  power  signing  it  could  put  the  conven¬ 
tion  into  force  for  itself  after  December  31st,  1914.  The 
United  States,  China,  the  Netherlands,  and  one  or  two 
other  powers  signed  at  once.  But  the  Great  World  War 
broke  out  immediately  afterwards  and  the  proposed  reform 
was  forgotten.  In  the  meantime  the  Chinese  revolution  of 
1911,  while  aiding  the  movement  in  one  way,  seriously 
hindered  it  in  others.  The  republic  was,  if  anything,  more 
determined  than  the  empire  to  stamp  out  the  curse  of 
opium  smoking.  In  some  provinces  men  were  put  to  death 
for  opium  smoking.  But  in  other  places,  where  military 
operations  were  in  progress,  the  enforcement  of  the  law 
was  relaxed.  Civil  war  has  been  almost  continuous  since 
1913,  and  some  of  the  military  leaders,  indifferent  to  every¬ 
thing  but  the  immediate  success  of  their  cause,  have  en¬ 
couraged  the  production  of  opium  in  order  to  raise  the 
revenues  needed  for  the  support  of  the  armies.  Such  action 
has  been  encouraged,  too,  by  the  great  amount  of  smug¬ 
gling  of  opium  and  morphia  from  neighboring  countries. 

In  1915  the  official  trade  returns  of  the  Japanese  Gov- 


462 


The  Era  of  Reform 

ernment  showed  an  import  into  that  country  of  358,543 
ounces  of  morphia  from  Great  Britain,  two-thirds  of  the 
entire  out-put  of  the  British  manufactories.  Yet  Japan 
has  stringent  laws  regulating  the  sale  of  morphia  to  her 
own  people.  Japanese  traders  were  charged  with  shipping 
large  quantities  of  the  drug  into  China  through  Japanese 
post-offices  in  that  country,  which,  because  of  Japan’s  en¬ 
joyment  of  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  over  her  subjects 
in  China,  could  not  be  searched  by  Chinese  customs  authori¬ 
ties.  The  Statistical  Secretary  of  the  Customs,  a  British 
subject,  estimated  the  amount  of  morphia,  thus  smuggled 
in  that  year  into  China  as  worth  one  million  pounds  ster¬ 
ling. 

When  the  attention  of  the  British  Anti-opium  Society 
was  called  to  this  condition  of  affairs  they  secured  the 
passage  through  parliament  of  an  act,  ostensibly  a  war¬ 
time  measure,  to  prevent  the  export  of  morphia.  The 
Japanese  Government  then  permitted  the  introduction  of 
poppy  planting  into  Korea.  Large  quantities  of  opium  were 
smuggled  into  Manchuria.  Morphia,  too,  is  said  to  have 
been  manufactured  by  certain  Japanese  firms.  Japanese 
papers  published  at  Dairen  carried  a  standing  advertise¬ 
ment  of  a  well-known  firm  in  which  opium  and  morphia 
were  offered  to  the  trade.  For  years  past  the  Japanese 
Government  has  maintained  an  opium  monopoly  in  For¬ 
mosa  to  supply  the  addicts  there  with  the  drug.  On  taking 
over  the  former  German  leased  territory  in  Kiaochow  a 
similar  arrangement  was  made  there.  The  farmer  of  this 
monopoly,  it  was  estimated,  cleared  a  million  yen  in  1918. 
The  Japanese  Government  controlled  the  customs  there 
and  the  railway  from  Tsingtao  to  Tsinan.  Large  quanti¬ 
ties  of  opium  found  their  way  into  the  interior  of  Shan¬ 
tung.  Numerous  Japanese  drug-stores  were  found  to  be 
little  better  than  opium  shops  in  disguise,  and  many 
Japanese  pedlars  in  Shantung  and  Manchuria  sold  hypo¬ 
dermic  injections  of  morphia  at  from  three  to  five  cents 
a  piece.  They  also  sold  the  syringes,  which  are  likewise 
contraband. 

High-minded  Japanese  were  shocked  by  this  situation, 


The  Era  of  Reform  463 

and  by  the  callousness  of  their  government,  and  urged  that 
something  be  done  to  remove  the  scandal. 

The  question  came  up  at  Paris  in  the  Peace  Conference, 
with  the  result  that  a  clause  was  inserted  in  the  treaty 
binding  all  the  signatories  to  carry  out  the  Convention  of 
1912.  After  ratification  of  that  treaty  the  Japanese  Gov¬ 
ernment  took  certain  measures  to  relieve  itself  of  respon¬ 
sibility  in  connections  with  the  illegal  traffic.  Arrange¬ 
ments  were  made  to  reduce  gradually  the  sales  of  the 
monopoly  in  Kiaochow,  so  that  in  five  years  the  traffic 
would  cease.  In  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  of  Manchuria,  if 
action  has  been  taken,  as  reported  in  the  press,  the  situa¬ 
tion  would  not  seem  to  be  much  improved,  since  the 
monopoly  was  reported  to  have  been  turned  over  to  the 
Municipality  at  Dairen. 

The  conditions  prevailing  at  present  in  regard  to  the 
traffic  are  far  from  satisfactory.  The  poppy  cultivation  in 
India  increased  in  1921  from  144,000  to  204,000  acres, 
according  to  a  report  to  the  Times  of  London  by  Dr. 
Collins,  one  of  the  British  delegates  to  the  anti-opium  con¬ 
ferences.  The  same  authority  stated  that  the  annual  export 
of  morphia  from  Great  Britain  to  Japan  had  grown  to 
the  enormous  amount  of  880,000  ounces  in  1920.  Most  of 
this  passed  through  the  United  States.  Recent  legislation 
by  the  Congress  was  designed  to  check  this  traffic  through 
our  country.  If  we  add  to  this  the  amount  of  opium  and 
morphia  smuggled  into  China  from  Hongkong,  Macao,  Indo 
China,  Formosa  and  elsewhere,  the  total  will  be  appalling. 
In  this  smuggling  no  doubt  large  numbers  of  Chinese  are 
themselves  engaged,  and  the  callousness  of  other  govern¬ 
ments  does  not  excuse  the  action  of  the  Chinese  authorities 
who  are  tolerating  open  production  in  violation  of  law, 
but  it  does  in  a  measure  explain  it.  Since  the  signing  of 
the  treaty  of  Versailles  the  control  of  the  question  has 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Council  of  the  League  of 
Nations,  in  which  our  government  has  no  voice.  But  the 
American  Government  has  been  too  long  interested  in  the 
reform  to  be  indifferent  to  its  success.  It  is  disturbing  to 
learn  that  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  League 


464 


The  Era  of  Reform 


a  proposal  to  “limit  the  production  of  opium  to  the  de¬ 
mand  for  medicinal  uses,  ’  ’  while  accepted  in  principle,  was 
nullified  by  reservations  on  the  part  of  producing  powers, 
who  appear  more  concerned  for  their  revenues  than  for  the 
promotion  of  the  reform. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  REFORM 

In  the  summer  of  1905  I  stood  on  the  platform  of  the 
railway  station  in  Peking,  whither  I  had  gone  to  bid  good¬ 
bye  to  the  members  of  an  imperial  commission,  which  had 
just  been  appointed  to  visit  Western  countries  to  study 
and  report  upon  constitutional  methods  of  government. 
The  two  principal  members  of  the  commission  were  Duke 
Tse,  a  member  of  the  imperial  family,  and  Tuan-fang, 
the  Viceroy  of  Nanking,  both  Manchus.  There  were  also 
a  number  of  Chinese  on  the  commission.  As  I  drew  near 
the  car  of  Duke  Tse  there  was  a  sudden  explosion;  the 
side  of  the  car  was  blown  out,  four  or  five  persons  were 
killed  and  a  number  of  others  badly  injured.  An  investiga¬ 
tion  showed  that  a  revolutionist  had  carried  an  infernal 
machine  into  the  car,  and,  as  he  passed  through  the  narrow 
corridor,  had  run  against  one  of  the  servants  of  Duke  Tse, 
who  was  trying  to  get  out.  The  box  containing  the  in¬ 
fernal  machine  fell  to  the  floor  and  exploded.  The  revolu¬ 
tionist  and  the  servant  were  among  the  killed.  The  de¬ 
parture  of  the  commission  was  postponed  for  a  time,  but 
its  members  left  later  in  the  summer,  and  after  visiting 
the  United  States  and  various  countries  of  Europe  returned 
to  Peking  in  August,  1906.  They  immediately  made  their 
report  to  the  throne  recommending  the  preparation  of  the 
country  for  the  introduction  of  representative  government. 
On  the  1st  of  September,  1906,  an  imperial  edict  appeared 
approving  of  the  recommendations  of  the  commission.  The 
edict  recited  the  fact  that  all  nations  now  were  in  free 
communication  one  with  another,  and  that  the  laws  and 
customs  of  one  affected  those  of  others ;  that  other  countries 
had  constitutional  government,  and  that  the  welfare  of 


The  Era  of  Reform 


465 


China  demanded  that  she  should  do  likewise;  that  an  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  situation  showed  that  China’s  lack  of 
prosperity  was  due  to  a  lack  of  cooperation  between  the 
throne  and  the  people ;  and  that,  while  the  supreme  author¬ 
ity  remained  vested  in  the  Crown,  it  was  right  that  the 
people  should  participate  in  the  government.  The  decree 
announced  furthermore  that  a  period  of  preparation  would 
be  necessary  before  a  parliament  could  be  established.  This 
period  was  subsequently  fixed  at  ten  years  but  afterwards 
shortened  to  seven.  In  1907,  as  a  measure  of  preparation, 
self-governing  societies  were  organized  to  train  the  people 
in  the  duties  of  citizenship.  The  first  municipal  election, 
too,  was  held  that  year  at  Tientsin,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  capital. 
That  city  became  during  his  viceroyship  a  sort  of  political 
experiment  station.  The  next  year,  1908,  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  election  of  provincial  assemblies. 


DEATH  OF  THE  EMPEROR  AND  EMPRESS  DOWAGER 

In  the  autumn,  however,  political  reforms  were  for¬ 
gotten  in  the  official  mourning  ceremonies  that  followed 
the  death  of  the  Empress  Dowager  and  the  Emperor, 
within  twenty-four  hours  of  each  other,  one  on  November 
14th  the  other  on  the  15th.  Which  died  first  is  not  cer¬ 
tainly  known  to  the  public,  but  officially  the  Emperor  was 
the  first  to  pass  away,  giving  the  Empress  Dowager  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  appoint  Pu-yi,  the  Emperor’s  nephew,  successor 
to  the  throne.  This  was  in  accordance  with  an  agreement 
made  in  1903  at  the  reconciliation  of  the  two  court  factions; 
that  of  the  Emperor  and  that  of  the  Dowager.  It  was 
decided  then  that  the  Emperor’s  brother,  Prince  Ch’un, 
should  marry  the  daughter  of  Jung-lu,  the  faithful  sup¬ 
porter  of  the  Dowager,  her  early  playmate  and  the  young 
Banner-man  who  had  saved  her  in  1861  from  the  hand 
of  the  assassin.  The  arrangement  announced  at  the  time 
of  the  marriage  as  already  stated,5  was  that,  if  a  son  should 
be  born,  he  should  be  made  the  continuator  of  two  lines, 

£>  See  Chapter  IY. 


466 


The  Era  of  Reform 


that  of  the  Emperor  T’ungchih,  who  died  in  1875,  and  that 
of  Kuanghsii,  the  then  reigning  sovereign.  This  was  in¬ 
tended  to  correct  the  abnormal  situation  created  by  the 
selection  of  Kuanghsii,  a  cousin  of  T’ungchih,  as  successor 
to  the  latter.  It  is  impossible,  according  to  the  Confucian 
teaching,  for  a  man  to  worship  the  spirit  of  a  relative  of 
the  same  generation  with  himself.  T  ’ungchih  and  Kuanghsii 
were  first  cousins.  Through  all  the  years  since  1875  the 
dead  emperor  T’ungchih  has  been  without  a  continuator 
of  the  line.  Now,  in  a  case  of  this  sort,  a  man  who  has 
two  lines  to  keep  up  must  have  two  wives,  for  he  must 
raise  up  descendants  in  two  lines.  This  is  the  only  case 
under  the  old  Chinese  law  in  which  bigamy  was  made 
legal.  Concubinage  has  a  legal  standing,  but  except  in  a 
case  like  that  just  described  no  man  may  have  more  than 
one  wife.  P’u-yi  was  proclaimed  Emperor  under  the  title 
of  Hsiian’tung.  He  was  four  years  of  age  in  1909  when  his 
reign  period  began.  He  has  just  been  married  (December, 
1922)  and  is  now  seventeen  years  of  age. 

DEGRADATION  OF  YUAN  SHIH-k’aI 

In  September,  1908,  some  weeks  before  the  death  of  the 
Dowager,  a  garden  party  had  been  arranged  at  the  Summer 
Palace  to  which  the  Diplomatic  Corps  had  been  invited.  A 
day  or  two  before  the  date  fixed  for  it,  it  was  called  off 
by  the  serious  illness  of  Her  Imperial  Majesty.  One  day 
while  she  was  very  ill  it  was  rumored  that  she  was  dead. 
A  eunuch  rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  saying : 
‘  ‘  The  Old  Buddha  is  dead.  ’  ’  This  was  a  common  nickname 
for  the  Empress  Dowager.  Immediately  the  Emperor  drew 
a  sheet  of  paper  from  his  desk  and  wrote  a  warrant  for 
the  arrest  and  execution  of  Yuan  Shih-kai.  The  Emperor 
had  never  forgotten  nor  forgiven  his  betrayal  by  Yuan  in 
1898.  He  had  just  sealed  the  document  when  the  eunuch 
came  running  in  again  saying:  “Oh,  she’s  alive  again.” 
The  Emperor  thrust  the  document  into  the  desk,  where  a 
few  weeks  later  it  was  found  by  his  widow  after  he  and 


The  Era  of  Reform 


467 


the  Dowager  had  both  passed  away.  She  at  once  sent  for 
Prince  Ch’un,  the  father  of  Pu-yi.  Prince  Ch’un  was 
Regent.  The  Empress  said  to  him:  “Here  are  your 
brother’s  commands;  what  will  you  do?”  The  Empress 
also  cherished  bitter  feelings  against  Yuan.  But  someone 
gave  him  warning.  He  fled  from  Peking  to  Tientsin.  While 
he  was  living  in  safety  there  in  the  British  Settlement 
Prince  Ch’ing  made  his  peace  with  the  Regent,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  he  might  retire  to  his  home.  Accordingly 
he  wrote  that  he  had  a  sore  foot  and  could  no  longer  dis¬ 
charge  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  retire.  He  went  to  his  home  in  the  province  of  Honan. 


MOURNING  PERIOD 

In  accordance  with  Manchu  custom  the  whole  empire 
mourned  for  one  hundred  days.  No  Chinese  was  allowed 
during  that  period  to  shave  his  head.  In  the  braided 
queue  he  wore  a  white  cord,  instead  of  a  red  or  black  one, 
white  being  the  color  of  mourning.  All  sign-boards  over 
shop  doors  which  had  red  or  gilt  coloring  were  changed 
to  blue  and  white.  No  feasting  was  allowed;  no  marriages 
celebrated.  Music  was  forbidden.  In  the  spring  of  1909 
the  remains  of  the  Emperor  were  carried  by  128  bearers 
from  the  capital  to  the  imperial  cemetery  85  miles  south¬ 
west  of  Peking,  known  as  the  Western  Tombs.  The  vault 
and  temple  constructed  there  for  his  tomb  appeared  very 
mean  in  contrast  to  those  of  the  great  emperors  who  had 
preceded  him  upon  the  throne.  The  building  was  still 
unfinished,  indeed,  at  the  time  of  the  revolution. 

The  remains  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  Tzu-hsi,  were  kept 
in  a  hall  reserved  for  that  purpose  at  the  foot  of  the  Pros¬ 
pect  Hill,  until  the  autumn  of  1909,  a  year  after  her  death, 
wrhen  they  were  borne  with  great  ceremony  to  the  mag¬ 
nificent  mausoleum  which  she  had  built  for  herself  at  the 
Eastern  Tombs,  90  miles  north-east  of  Peking. 

Thrice  the  great  empire  of  China  has  been  ruled  by  a 
woman.  All  have  been  strong  characters,  but  all  guilty 


468 


The  Era  of  Reform 


N 

of  great  cruelties.  Tzu-hsi  was  perhaps  the  greatest  of 
them  all.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Manchu  Colonel  of 
the  Bordered  Blue  Banner  Corps.  Taken  into  the  harem 
of  the  Emperor  Hsienfeng  in  1852,  as  a  concubine  of  the 
fourth  rank,  she  had  become  the  mother  of  the  only  son 
of  that  Emperor,  and  was  promoted  from  one  rank  to 
another  until,  at  the  death  of  her  husband,  she  was  known 
as  the  Princess  Yi,  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter.  After 
her  husband’s  death  she  became  one  of  the  regents,  and 
was  raised  to  the  rank  of  secondary  Empress  Dowager,  or, 
as  more  commonly  called,  the  “Western  Empress  Dow¬ 
ager,”  the  east  being  the  side  of  greatest  honor.  There 
she  eclipsed  her  superior  in  rank,  the  Eastern  Empress, 
with  whom  however  she  maintained  a  strong  friendship. 
The  words  Tzu-hsi  are  but  two  syllables  of  the  long  title 
that  was  conferred  upon  her,  two  syllables  at  a  time,  during 
her  life.6  She  was  a  masterful  woman  with  strong  common 
sense,  but  lacking  acquaintance  with  the  world.  She  was 
a  gracious  hostess,  but  when  her  will  was  crossed  she  was 
cruel  as  the  grave.  She  wasted  the  revenues  of  the  empire 
upon  her  pleasures.  The  funds  raised  for  the  building  of 
a  navy  she  appropriated  to  the  creation  of  a  summer  palace 
at  Wan  Shou  Shan,  adjoining  the  Yuan  Ming  Yuan  Park 
that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  British  and  French  in  1860. 
Like  Athaliah  of  old  she  had  no  scruples  about  killing  those 
who  stood  in  her  way,  and,  like  Athaliah,  she  seized  the 
kingdom.  For  nearly  half  a  century  she  ruled  the  empire, 
and  to  her  perhaps,  more  than  to  any  other  one  person, 
the  Manchu  Dynasty  owed  its  downfall.  Her  memory  will 
be  preserved,  indeed,  but  not  by  the  fragrant  balsam  of 
affection.  It  will  be  preserved  by  the  bitter  myrrh  of 
hatred  and  unending  regret. 

6  The  title  in  full  was  “Tzu-Hsi,  Tuan- Yu,  K’ang-I,  Chao-Yu, 
Chuang-Ch ’eng,  Shou-Kung,  Ch’in-Hsien,  Ch’ung-Hsi,  Sheng  Mu.” 
Its  meaning  is:  “The  Holy  Mother,  Compassionate  and  Fortunate, 
Upright  Protector,  Reposeful  and  Firm,  Glorious  and  Happy,  Grave 
and  Sincere,  Long-Lived  and  Reverent,  August  and  Gracious,  Noble 
and  Brilliant.” 


CHAPTER  XXII 


SETTING  UP  THE  REPUBLIC 

God  said:  “ I  am  tired  of  Kings — 

I  suffer  them  no  more. 

Up  to  my  ears  the  morning  brings 
The  outrage  of  the  poor. 

Behold  mine  angel,  Freedom! 

Choose  him  to  be  your  king. 

He  shall  cut  pathways  east  and  west, 

And  fend  you  with  his  wing. 

Emerson. 

The  people  are  the  foundation  of  the  State;  the  national  altars 
are  second  in  importance;  the  monarch  is  the  least  important  of  all. — 
Mencius  (350  B.  C.). 

The  death  of  the  Emperor  Kuanghsii  and  that  of  the 
Empress  Dowager  Tzn-hsi,  within  a  few  days  of  each  other, 
halted  the  programme  of  reform  for  a  few  months ;  but 
the  provincial  assemblies,  elected  by  the  people,  met  in  their 
several  capitals  in  October,  1909.  Dr.  Morrison,  the  cor¬ 
respondent  of  the  Times ,  of  London,  visited  a  number  of 
these  assemblies  and  reported  that  their  meetings  were 
conducted  with  dignity,  and  that  the  members  showed  real 
capacity  for  legislative  work.  The  assemblies  did  not 
possess  legislative  power,  however;  they  were  merely  de¬ 
liberative.  But  they  recommended  various  measures  to  the 
provincial  authorities  which  were  of  real  importance  to  the 
people. 


THE  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY 

A  year  later,  October,  1910,  the  first  national  assembly 
met  at  Peking.  It  consisted  of  a  single  chamber  and  one 
half  of  its  members  were  appointed  by  the  Throne.  It 
also  had  deliberative  powers  only.  It  represented  very 

469 


470 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


fairly  the  various  elements  of  the  population;  Manchus, 
Mongols  and  Chinese.  There  were  16  imperial  princes  and 
dukes,  10  other  Manchu  nobles,  14  from  the  dependencies, 
6  representatives  of  the  imperial  clan  other  than  nobles, 
32  officials  from  different  departments  of  the  government, 
10  noted  scholars,  10  of  the  largest  tax  payers,  and  100 
representatives  elected  by  the  provincial  assemblies.  There 
were  two  Presidents — one  Manchu,  Prince  P  ’u-lun,  and  one 
Chinese,  Sun  Chia-nai.  Despite  the  large  representation 
of  the  Manchus  and  the  official  classes,  the  Assembly  from 
the  start  showed  itself  hostile  to  the  Government’s  pro¬ 
gramme.  It  demanded  an  immediate  grant  of  power  to 
legislate.  Petitions  to  this  effect  had  been  presented  before 
the  death  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  to  which  that  willful 
woman  had  replied  by  reminding  the  petitioners  that  the 
constitution  was  being  granted  from  above,  not  forced  upon 
the  Throne  by  the  people.  She  affirmed  the  sacredness  of 
the  sovereign,  who  was  possessed  of  all  authority,  although 
he  desired  to  exercise  it  in  accordance  with  constitutional 
forms.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  declaration  she  was 
following  the  example  set  by  the  Japanese  Mikado  in  his 
grant  of  a  constitution.1  In  fact  the  Empress  Dowager 
expressly  declared  that  the  powers  of  the  sovereign  under 
the  new  dispensation  were  to  be  like  those  of  the  rulers 
of  Japan  and  Russia.  All  laws  were  to  be  subject  to  his 
approval  and  all  officials  were  to  be  appointed  by  him.  He 
alone  could  convoke  and  dissolve  parliaments.  He  was  to 
remain  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy.  The 
expenses  of  the  imperial  household  were  to  be  taken  from 
the  treasury  without  any  supervision  by  the  parliament. 

An  assembly  of  this  sort,  as  Maclaren  has  pointed  out 
with  respect  to  Japan,  is  “the  most  dangerous  political 
institution  that  can  be  created  in  any  country.  ”  2  In  Japan 
the  Diet  still  labors  under  such  limitations  as  were  pro- 

1  Ito,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Constitution  of  Japan,  Chapter  I, 
page  2,  said  that  the  mention  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  provi¬ 
sions  concerning  the  sovereign  did  not  in  any  way  imply  that  any 
new  opinion  was  set  forth;  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  original  national 
polity  was  more  strongly  confirmed  than  ever. 

2  Maclaren  7s  Political  History  of  Japan,  p.  151. 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


471 


posed  by  the  Empress  Dowager  to  China,  but  Japan  had 
only  recently  emerged  from  feudalism  when  the  constitu¬ 
tion  was  granted.  The  people  are  still  submissive  to  their 
lords  and  are  trained  to  worship  the  sovereign.  There  has 
as  yet  been  but  slight  chance  for  the  development  of  a 
strong  popular  party  in  opposition  to  the  Throne.  There 
is  a  liberal  party  headed  by  a  few  strong  men,  but  it  has 
not  been  able  to  remove  the  handicap  just  described.  In 
China,  on  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  several  institu¬ 
tions  of  a  democratic  character  that  have  helped  to  prepare 
the  people  for  political  life.  There  moreover  the  existence 
of  a  foreign  dynasty  has  been  provocative  of  criticism,  and 
has  made  possible  the  organization  of  secret  'societies  aim¬ 
ing  at  revolution.  Such  a  programme  as  that  outlined  by 
the  Dowager  was,  therefore,  one  sure  to  be  taken  advantage 
of  by  the  enemies  of  the  Manchus.  The  ferment  began  at 
once. 

The  Prince  Regent,  father  of  the  baby  emperor,  was  not 
a  brilliant  man.  Neither  was  he  tactful.  Prince  Pu-lun, 
the  Manchu  President,  urged  him  to  yield  to  the  inevitable, 
to  get  credit  for  liberal  views  and  save  the  dynasty,  but 
his  efforts  were  unavailing.  The  only  concession  which  the 
Regent  would  make  was  to  shorten  the  period  of  prepara¬ 
tion,  so  that  a  real  parliament  possessed  of  legislative 
powers  might  meet  in  1913  instead  of  1917.  The  edict 
to  this  effect  was  issued  on  Nov.  2,  1910.  It  did  not  satisfy 
the  radicals,  who  clamored  for  legislative  power  at  once. 
On  the  30th  of  November  they  put  through  a  resolution 
asking  that  the  cabinet  be  made  responsible  to  the  assembly, 
but  the  Regent  rejected  it.  After  a  stormy  session  the 
assembly  adjourned  on  Jan.  11th,  1911.  Before  the  time 
for  the  next  meeting  had  arrived  the  revolution  had  begun, 
and  the  dynasty  was  tottering  to  its  fall. 

RAILWAYS  AND  REVOLUTION 

In  May,  1911,  the  Chinese  Government  entered  into  a 
contract  with  the  four-power  group  of  bankers  for  a  loan 
with  which  to  build  the  Hukuang  Railways.  The  lines 


472 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


were  so  called  because  they  were  to  be  constructed  through 
the  provinces  of  Hupei  and  Hunan,  which  collectively 
formed  the  Viceroy alty  of  the  Hukuang,  or  the  “Lake 
Plain.* ’  One  line  was  to  extend  southwards  from  Hankow 
to  the  northern  boundary  of  Kuangtung  Province,  where 
it  was  to  connect  with  the  railway  being  built  by  a  Chinese 
company  northwards  from  Canton.  The  other  was  to  be 
built  westwards  from  Hankow,  across  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Szechuen  Province,  where  it  was  to  connect  with  a  line 
to  be  built  by  a  Szechuen  company  to  Chengtu,  the  capital 
of  that  province.  The  banking  group  was  at  first  composed 
of  British  and  French  bankers  only,  when  the  line  south¬ 
ward  from  Hankow  was  that  under  consideration.  But 
Germans  offered  China  more  attractive  terms,  which  led 
to  the  incorporation  of  a  German  group  and  the  inclusion 
of  the  line  westward  from  Hankow.  The  Americans,  how¬ 
ever,  had  been  given  a  promise  in  1903  and  again  in  1904, 
that,  in  case  the  latter  line  should  be  built  with  foreign 
capital,  British  and  American  companies  would  be  con¬ 
sulted.3  In  1909,  therefore,  the  American  Government  re¬ 
minded  China  of  this  promise,  and  an  American  group  was 
admitted  to  participation  in  1910.  Inasmuch  as  the 
Szechuen  company  had  made  very  little  progress  in  the 
construction  of  the  proposed  line  from  Kueichoufu  to 
Chengtufu,  the  Peking  Government  decided  to  take  over 
that  section  and  increase  the  four-power  loan  from  four 
million,  the  sum  mentioned  in  the  original  contract,  to 
six  million  pounds  sterling.  The  final  contract  for  this 
amount  was  signed  on  May  20th,  1911.  The  Szechuen 
Railway  Company  had  raised  eleven  million  taels,  of  which 
some  seven  millions  had  been  lost  in  rubber  speculation 
by  the  President  of  the  company.  Nothing  had  been  ac¬ 
complished  except  the  construction  of  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  of  earth-work.  When  the  news  reached  Chengtu  that 
the  Ministry  of  Communications  had  signed  an  agree¬ 
ment  with  foreign  bankers  for  the  building  of  the  Szechuen 
Railway,  the  shareholders  of  the  provincial  company  held 

3  See  MacMurray  ?s  Treaties  and  Conventions  with  and  Concerning 
China,  pp.  885  and  886. 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


473 


a  meeting,  on  August  4th,  and  asked  for  reimbursement 
of  their  outlay.  They  declared  that  they  had  no  objection 
to  the  loan,  nor  to  the  pledging  of  provincial  taxes,  but 
asked  just  treatment  for  themselves.  The  Minister  of  Com¬ 
munications,  Sheng  Hsiian-huai,  proposed  to  give  them  four 
million  taels’  worth  of  shares  in  the  new  enterprise.  This 
offer  was  rejected;  the  company  demanded  eleven  million 
taels,  or  interest  on  that  amount,  and  refused  to  take 
bonds.  The  Minister  pointed  out  that  seven  millions  had 
been  lost,  and  that  there  remained  but  four  millions.  The 
company  rejoined  that  the  President  who  had  misappro¬ 
priated  the  seven  millions  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Peking  Government,  which  was  therefore  responsible.  In¬ 
dignation  meetings  were  held  in  various  cities  of  Szechuen, 
and  appeals  were  telegraphed  to  officials  in  Peking  and  to 
the  Szechuen  Guild  in  that  city.  The  members  of  the  guild 
held  a  meeting,  and  sent  a  deputation  to  wait  upon  the 
Prince  Regent.  The  latter  failed  to  realize  the  gravity  of 
the  situation,  and  stubbornly  refused  to  yield  or  to  com¬ 
promise.  On  the  18th  of  August  the  shareholders  met 
again,  and  gave  the  Government  fifteen  days  within  which 
to  agree  to  the  company’s  demands.  During  this  period 
riots  occurred  in  various  cities,  and  officers  of  the  imperial 
government  were  attacked.  The  company  was  supported 
in  its  demands  by  the  provincial  legislature.  The  ultima¬ 
tum  of  the  Szechuen  people  expired  September  2.  On  the 
4th  of  the  month  another  meeting  of  the  shareholders  was 
held.  Threats  were  made  that  the  company  would  pay 
themselves  by  seizing  the  provincial  taxes.  The  legislature 
prepared  to  resist  the  national  government  by  organizing  a 
force  of  militia.  On  the  6th  of  September  an  edict  of  the 
Prince  Regent  was  received  by  the  Viceroy  directing  him 
to  suppress  the  disturbances.  A  meeting  of  the  shareholders 
had  been  called  for  that  day,  and  600  men  were  assembled 
in  a  hall  waiting  for  their  leaders,  who  had  been  arrested 
by  the  Viceroy  and  were  being  held  by  him  in  his  yamen. 
The  excitement  increased  from  day  to  day,  and  on  the 
9th  of  September  a  mob  of  armed  men  gathered  in  front 
of  the  Viceroy’s  yamen  demanding  an  interview  with  that 


474 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


official.  Subordinates  appeared  and  told  the  leaders  of 
the  mob  that  the  Viceroy  would  receive  them  if  they  would 
surrender  their  arms.  They  did  so,  and  were  immediately 
attacked  by  the  Viceroy’s  guards,  who  massacred  the  de¬ 
fenseless  people  without  mercy.  This  was  the  match  that 
fired  the  train.  The  resulting  explosion  overturned  the 
throne  of  the  Manchus.  The  province  of  Szechuen  at  once 
flew  to  arms.  Solemn  pledges  were  taken  by  the  leaders 
to  stand  by  one  another.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
support  of  the  families  of  all  who  might  be  killed  in  the 
conflict,  and  the  names  of  such  patriots  were  to  be  in¬ 
scribed  on  a  roll  of  honor.  Thus  far  the  professional 
revolutionists  had  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  movement. 
Dr.  Sun  was  not  in  China,  and  General  Huang  Hsing  had 
taken  no  part. 

Members  of  the  revolutionary  secret  societies,  however, 
are  found  everywhere  in  China,  and  they  were  quick  to  take 
advantage  of  the  situation.  On  October  8th,  1911,  an  ex¬ 
plosion  occurred  in  a  house  in  the  British  Concession  at 
Hankow.  Investigation  by  the  police  discovered  that  it 
was  headquarters  of  a  revolutionary  group  engaged  in 
making  bombs.  These  were  arrested  and  turned  over  to 
the  Chinese  authorities.  The  Viceroy  at  Wuchang,  across 
the  river  from  Hankow,  promptly  executed  them  on  the 
9th  and  was  decorated  by  the  Regent  with  the  yellow  jacket. 
The  next  night  his  yamen  was  in  flames,  and  his  own  troops 
mutinied  under  the  leadership  of  their  Colonel,  Li  Yuan- 
hung,  who  has  recently  been  made  President  of  China  for 
the  second  time.  Jui-cheng,  the  Viceroy,  fled  to  a  man-of- 
war  in  the  river  and  was  carried  to  Shanghai.  He  was  de¬ 
prived  of  his  yellow  jacket  before  he  had  worn  it  and  was 
ordered  to  suppress  the  mutiny,  but  a  few  days  later  he 
died  of  chagrin  in  Shanghai. 

In  the  meantime  a  large  body  of  troops  had  been  sent 
from  Hupei  Province  to  Szechuen  to  suppress  the  rebellion 
there.  Tuan-fang,  the  liberal  Manchu  statesman  who  had 
been  a  member  of  the  constitutional  commission  that  was 
sent  abroad  in  1905,  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  this 
force.  He  was  not  a  military  officer,  but  he  was  a  Manchu, 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


475 


and  was  therefore  presumed  to  be  qualified  for  the  post, 
for  all  Manchus  were  required  to  bear  arms.  Some  weeks 
were  consumed  in  making  the  arduous  journey  through  the 
Yangtze  gorges.  Shortly  after  he  reached  Chungking,  in 
Szechuen,  his  troops  received  word  of  the  mutiny  at 
Wuchang  and  revolted  in  sympathy  with  their  comrades. 
Tuan-fang  was  helpless.  A  foreign  educated  physician 
exchanged  sedan  chairs  with  him,  and  on  November  20  in 
disguise  he  attempted  to  escape  from  the  city,  but  his 
troops  held  the  city  gates.  He  was  recognized,  taken 
prisoner,  and  after  having  his  ears  struck  off  was  murdered. 
His  head  was  carried  triumphantly  by  two  of  his  soldiers 
to  Hankow,  where  they  claimed  the  reward  which  the 
revolutionists  had  put  upon  the  heads  of  Manchus.  He 
was  a  scholar  rather  than  a  soldier,  and  should  have  been 
an  archaeologist.  His  collection  of  antiques  was  remark¬ 
able  and  his  judgment  in  such  matters  was  widely  acknowl¬ 
edged.  He  was  a  man  of  quiet  habits  and  refined  tastes, 
liberal  minded  and  large  hearted.  To  him  very  largely 
was  due  the  programme  of  political  reform  introduced  in 
1905,  and  to  him  especially  the  women  of  China  owe  a 
debt  of  gratitude  because  of  his  efforts  to  introduce  educa¬ 
tion  for  girls.  He  was  innocent  of  the  offenses  which  made 
the  Manchus  hated,  but  he  suffered  vicariously  for  the  sins 
of  his  people. 

Early  in  October,  1911,  the  annual  military  maneuvers 
were  to  have  been  held  in  the  north.  In  anticipation  of 
that  event  the  Imperial  Guard  was  drawn  up  one  day  on 
the  plain  north  of  Peking  to  be  reviewed  by  the  Regent. 
After  the  usual  military  movements,  the  Guard  paraded 
before  the  Prince  and  was  presented  with  a  new  silk  flag. 
The  standard-bearer  received  it  from  his  hands  and  stepped 
backward  to  take  his  place  in  the  ranks,  caught  his  heel, 
stumbled  and  fell,  dragging  the  beautiful  dragon  banner 
in  the  dust.  The  Prince,  it  is  said,  turned  pale;  perhaps 
in  anger,  perhaps  in  fear.  It  was  an  evil  omen,  but  no 
one  at  that  time  recognized  the  nature  of  the  calamity  over¬ 
hanging  the  Throne. 

After  the  mutiny  at  Wuchang  on  October  10th  the  revo- 


/ 


476 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


lution  spread  rapidly.  Hankow  was  captured  and  burned, 
and  Hanyang  with  its  arsenal  was  also  taken.  The  provinces 
south  of  the  Yangtze  one  by  one  seceded  from  the  empire 
and  set  up  independent  governments.  Strange  to  say  the 
province  of  Kuangtung,  of  which  Canton  was  the  capital, 
was  the  last  of  the  southern  provinces  to  join  the  revolu¬ 
tion,  and  did  not  do  so  until  near  the  close  of  the  year. 
Four  of  the  south-western  provinces  entered  into  a  federa¬ 
tion  with  their  capital  at  Wuchang,  and  with  Colonel  Li 
Yuan-hung  as  President.  Somewhat  later  another  group 
of  provinces  formed  a  union  with  headquarters  at  Shanghai. 


THE  REVOLUTION  IN  THE  NORTH 

Shantung,  north  of  the  Yangtze,  seceded,  and  later  re¬ 
turned  to  allegiance.  There  were  uprisings  at  Taiyuan, 
in  Shansi,  and  at  Hsian,  in  Shensi,  in  both  of  which  places 
the  revolution  was  stained  by  the  cruel  massacre  in  cold 
blood  of  defenseless  Manchus,  men,  women  and  children. 
Great  assistance  was  given  to  the  revolution  by  the  National 
Assembly,  which  opened  its  second  session  on  October  22. 
It  renewed  at  once  the  demand  of  the  preceding  year  for 
real  legislative  power,  and  added  to  this  a  demand  for  the 
prohibition  of  the  appointment  of  princes  of  the  blood  to 
office,  which  meant  the  removal  of  the  Premier,  Prince 
Ch’ing.  A  renewal  was  also  made  of  the  demand  that  the 
Cabinet  should  be  responsible  to  the  Assembly.  This  pro¬ 
gramme  was  supported  by  the  general  officers  of  the  north¬ 
ern  army,  who  signed  a  round  robin  submitting  to  the 
Assembly  the  draft  of  a  constitution  in  nineteen  articles. 
Under  this  the  Manchus  were  to  retain  the  throne,  but 
were  to  surrender  all  real  power.  Legislation  was  to  be 
the  function  of  the  National  Assembly  alone.  The  Emperor 
could  do  nothing  but  promulgate  laws,  and  this  was  to  be 
an  obligation  of  the  throne.  The  constitution  could  be 
amended  only  by  the  Assembly.  Even  the  executive  power 
was  taken  away.  The  premier  was  to  be  elected  by  the 
Assembly,  and  the  throne  was  compelled  to  appoint  the  man 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


477 


so  chosen.  The  premier  was  to  select  the  cabinet,  whose 
members  were  then  to  be  appointed  by  the  Emperor.  If 
the  Government  of  the  day  should  be  defeated  in  the  Assem¬ 
bly,  one  of  two  courses  had  to  be  taken ;  either  the  Cabinet 
had  to  be  dismissed  or  the  Assembly  be  dissolved;  and  no 
Cabinet  could  dissolve  two  Assemblies  in  succession.  The 
military  power  was  left  nominally  to  the  Emperor,  but  the 
army  could  not  be  employed  to  suppress  internal  dis¬ 
turbances  except  under  special  rules  to  be  enacted  by  the 
Assembly.  In  foreign  affairs,  too,  the  Assembly  was  to  be 
the  deciding  factor,  since  no  treaty  was  to  be  binding  until 
sanctioned  by  it.  Financial  control  was  secured  by  requir¬ 
ing  all  expenditures  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  budget. 
Even  appropriations  for  the  imperial  household  were  to  be 
under  the  control  of  the  Assembly.  If  the  Assembly  refused 
to  appropriate  for  the  budget,  it  was  not  allowable  to  do 
as  is  done  in  Japan,  i.e.,  proceed  according  to  the  latest 
preceding  budget.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  outline  em¬ 
bodied  the  best  features  of  the  British  and  French  con¬ 
stitutions. 

On  November  2d,  1911,  the  Assembly  adopted  this  con¬ 
stitution,  and  on  the  3d  passed  a  resolution  requiring  the 
Regent  to  take  oath  to  observe  it.  That  oath  was  to  be 
taken  in  the  most  solemn  manner  possible,  that  is  to  say, 
the  Regent  was  to  take  the  oath  in  the  Temple  of  Imperial 
Ancestors,  thus  calling  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  to  bear 
witness  to  it.  He  did  this  on  November  26th  but  despite 
this  complete  surrender,  on  December  6th  the  Assembly 
compelled  him  to  resign  the  regency. 

YUAN  RETURNS  TO  POWER 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  the  Regent 
had  made  several  attempts  to  bring  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  back 
into  office.  It  will  be  recalled  that  he  had  been  allowed 
to  retire  in  1908,  on  the  pretext  of  having  a  sore  foot,  but 
in  reality  to  escape  execution  at  the  hands  of  the  Regent. 
Now  the  Regent  remembered  that  Yuan  had  built  up  the 
northern  army  and  was  its  idol.  He  hoped  by  obtaining 


478 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


Yuan’s  assistance  to  stem  the  tide  of  revolution  which 
threatened  to  engulf  the  dynasty.  Yuan,  on  being  invited 
to  return  to  power,  declined  politely,  pleading  that  his  foot 
was  not  yet  well.  But  a  gentleman  who  was  in  his  con¬ 
fidence  called  at  the  Legation  and  assured  us  that  Yuan 
would  come  when  his  conditions  were  accepted.  This  gen¬ 
tleman  added  very  significantly;  “He  will  come,  but  later 
we  are  going  to  have  a  republic,  and  Yuan  will  be  Presi¬ 
dent.  ’ 9 

Repeatedly  the  Regent  urged  him  to  remember  all  the 
favors  that  he  had  received  from  the  dynasty  and  come  to 
its  assistance.  Yuan’s  conditions  were  that  he  should  be 
made  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  that 
the  funds  in  possession  of  the  Court  should  be  placed  at 
his  disposal  for  the  support  of  the  troops.  These  conditions 
were  accepted.  On  November  4th  an  edict  appeared  ap¬ 
pointing  Yuan  Premier.  Still  he  declined.  He  wanted, 
no  doubt,  to  be  elected  by  the  Assembly  in  accordance  with 
the  new  constitution.  This  was  done  on  the  7th.  The 
election  was  confirmed  by  the  Throne  on  the  9th.  He 
declined  again,  but  on  the  15th  he  accepted.  For  several 
days  before  this  acceptance  Peking  was  in  a  panic.  No 
one  knew  what  would  happen.  The  revolutionists  were 
powerful  even  in  the  capital.  Wild  rumors  were  in  cir¬ 
culation  and  tens  of  thousands  fled  from  the  city  by  all 
the  gates;  multitudes  on  foot,  others  on  donkeys  or  in 
carts,  chairs  or  other  conveyances.  The  trains  were  packed ; 
even  the  roofs  of  freight  cars  were  covered.  Yuan’s  ac¬ 
ceptance  relieved  the  tension,  and  after  a  time  the  city 
renewed  its  wonted  appearance. 

INTERESTING  LEGISLATION 

The  National  Assembly  did  not  confine  its  attention  to 
political  problems,  despite  their  absorbing  character.  It 
was  an  interesting  experience  to  sit  in  the  gallery  and  listen 
to  the  debates  upon  various  topics.  Not  long  after  the 
reassembling  in  October  a  bill  was  introduced  to  abolish 
the  wearing  of  the  queue.  As  is  pretty  well  known  by 


479 


Setting  up  the  Republic 

most  people  now  the  queue  was  introduced  by  the  Manchus, 
who,  when  they  conquered  China  in  1644  compelled  the 
Chinese  men  to  shave  their  heads  and  wear  the  queue  in 
token  of  their  submission.  At  the  same  time  another  edict 
appeared  requiring  the  women  to  unbind  their  feet.  The 
men  obeyed  very  promptly.  The  women  never  did  obey, 
and  none  but  a  few  could  be  induced  by  missionaries  or 
reformers  to  avoid  crippling  their  children,  until  the  educa¬ 
tional  reforms  of  1904  were  introduced  by  the  Empress 
Dowager. 

The  wearing  of  the  queue  was  not  only  unsanitary,  but, 
viewed  historically,  it  was  a  badge  of  subjection,  and  there¬ 
fore  offensive  to  men  who  were  struggling  to  destroy 
Manchu  supremacy.  Much  oratory  was  expended  in  sup¬ 
port  of  the  bill  mentioned,  and  few  members  of  the  As¬ 
sembly  ventured  to  oppose  it.  Among  the  latter  was  an 
old  gentleman  who  closed  a  rather  vehement  speech  with 
the  remark :  “  I  had  rather  lose  my  head  than  my  queue.  ’  ’ 
He  sat  down.  The  ballot  was  taken  and  the  bill  was  car¬ 
ried  by  a  large  majority.  The  old  gentleman  then  arose 
in  a  very  dignified  manner,  gathered  up  his  papers  and 
stalked  out  of  the  house  in  indignant  protest.  As  he  passed 
down  the  aisle  I  noticed  that  his  head  was  bald  save  for  a 
short,  thin  queue  six  or  eight  inches  long,  hanging  just 
above  his  neck.  But  the  locks  of  Samson  were  not  more 
dear  to  that  hero  than  this  little  wisp  of  hair  to  this  loyal 
subject  of  the  Son-of -Heaven. 

Another  topic  which  came  up  for  discussion  much  later 
was  that  of  official  dress.  Manchu  law  prescribed  Jn 
minutest  detail  the  official  dress  of  every  man  and  woman 
according  to  their  class.  Now  that  China  was  being 
modernized  it  was  perhaps  not  unnatural  that  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  Western  political  institutions  should  be  accom¬ 
panied  by  Western  costumes.  So  a  bill  was  submitted  and 
carried  prescribing  the  sort  of  dress  to  be  worn  by  officers 
of  the  government — the  business  suit,  the  morning  frock 
coat,  the  informal  dinner  jacket  and  the  swallow-tail; 
starched  shirts,  collars,  neckties,  silk  hats,  bowler  hats  and 
shoes.  Patterns  for  all  these  were  supplied.  The  change 


480 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


in  the  appearance  of  the  Assembly  was  startling.  The 
members  of  the  National  Assembly  in  1911  and  1912  were 
clothed  in  silk  and  satin  robes  of  brilliant  colors.  They 
presented  a  very  attractive  picture.  The  parliament  of 
1913  appeared  in  the  new  Western  costume,  black  frock 
coats  and  dark  trousers,  a  solemn  and  depressing  sight. 
The  change  was  the  more  distressing  because  the  patterns 
were  not  understood  by  some  of  the  tailors  in  the  interior 
cities.  Trousers  of  black  satin  and  frock  coats  that  touched 
the  ankles  seemed  ludicrous  to  Western  eyes,  although  to 
a  man  from  Mars  probably  they  would  appear  no  uglier 
than  those  that  copied  the  fashion  plates. 

A  similar  tendency  to  abandon  old  customs  for  new  is 
seen  in  all  the  relations  and  activities  of  life  in  China. 
It  is  seen,  too,  in  other  lands.  The  picturesque  is  being 
exchanged  for  the  commonplace  and  ugly.  The  beauty  of 
Peking  is  being  marred  by  European  architecture,  and  the 
dignity  and  gentleness  of  the  passing  generation  is  being 
replaced  by  a  rude  counterfeit  of  European  manners.  Why 
should  the  world  be  of  one  costume,  creed  and  custom? 
It  is  an  aid  to  commercialism,  to  be  sure,  to  standardize 
our  clothing,  furniture  and  architecture,  our  political  in¬ 
stitutions  and  our  social  and  religious  rites.  But  commer¬ 
cialism  needs  to  be  checked,  not  encouraged.  This  dull 
uniformity  adds  nothing  to  the  beauty  of  the  world  or  the 
joy  of  life.  On  the  contrary  it  greatly  lessens  these.  There 
ought  to  be  a  society  for  the  preservation  of  native  cultures 
to  offset  this  drift  toward  a  deadly  sameness.  We  are  all 
idolaters,  and  bow  down  to  the  gods  of  use  and  wont.  What 
is  strange  to  us  we  consider  barbaric,  and  we  think  ours 
the  only  right  way  of  doing  things.  But,  to  quote  the 
moral  of  Kipling’s  poem, 

There  are  nine  and  sixty  ways 

Of  constructing  tribal  lays, 

And  every  single  one  of  them  is  right. 

Fortunately  the  resolutions  of  the  parliament  have  had  but 
little  effect  on  the  country  generally.  A  reaction,  it  is 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


481 


hoped,  will  some  day  set  in,  and  the  best  things  of  the 
old  civilization  be  preserved. 

A  more  thrilling  episode  in  the  legislation  of  the  National 
Assembly  was  one  impeaching  the  Minister  of  Communica¬ 
tions  for  his  denial  of  justice  to  the  Szechuen  Railway 
Company.  His  death  was  demanded  by  the  Assembly,  but 
he  found  refuge  in  one  of  the  Legations,  and  was  aided 
by  foreign  friends  in  escaping  to  Tientsin  and  Tsingtao. 

When  the  new  premier,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  arrived  in 
Peking  he  called  at  the  various  legations.  He  was  in  robust 
health  and  apparently  in  the  best  of  spirits.  He  wore  the 
usual  dress  of  a  Chinese  civil  official;  satin  gown  and 
jacket,  court  beads  and  peacock  plumes.  In  his  conversa¬ 
tion  at  the  American  Legation  he  was  very  frank,  giving 
it  as  his  opinion  that  a  limited  monarchy  was  better  suited 
to  China’s  condition  than  a  republic.  In  the  light  of  sub¬ 
sequent  events  this  statement  became  important.  While  he 
was  speaking  the  Military  Attache  of  the  Legation  came 
in  wearing  his  uniform.  Yuan,  who  had  known  him  for 
some  years,  shook  his  hand  and  said:  “I  like  to  see  a  man 
in  military  uniform.  You  can  believe  everything  a  man 
says  in  that  dress,  but  in  this  costume,”  pointing  to  his 
own  Chinese  gown,  “you  can’t  believe  anything  one  says.” 

He  left  Peking  almost  immediately  to  take  command  of 
the  imperial  army  near  Hankow.  That  city  was  recaptured 
after  some  severe  fighting,  and  Hanyang,  separated  from 
Hankow  by  the  Han  River,  was  taken  shortly  afterwards. 
General  Huang  Hsing  was  in  command  of  the  revolutionists 
in  the  latter  city,  but,  according  to  reports  received  in 
Peking,  ran  away  before  the  attack  began.  His  subsequent 
record  at  Nanking  justifies  the  belief  that  the  report  was 
correct. 

The  capture  of  these  two  cities  by  the  imperialists  was 
offset  by  the  loss  of  Nanking  at  about  the  same  time. 

ABDICATION  OF  THE  MANCHUS 

Leaving  his  forces  in  possession  of  Hankow  and  Han¬ 
yang,  Yuan  returned  to  Peking  and  demanded  additional 


482 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


funds  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  They  were  not  to 
be  had.  The  Chinese  Government  then  sought  a  foreign 
loan.  The  American  Government  suggested  to  that  of 
Great  Britain  that  the  bankers  of  the  two  countries  be 
advised  not  to  make  such  a  loan.  None  was  available. 
Yuan  then  advised  the  Court  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  negotiate  a  peace  with  the  revolutionists.  Tong  Shao-yi 
left  Peking  on  December  9th  to  represent  the  Imperial 
Government  in  such  negotiations.  He  went  first  to  Han¬ 
kow,  and  on  the  13th  had  an  interview  with  Li  Yuan-hung 
in  Wuchang,  where  the  latter  served  as  President  of  a 
federation  of  several  provinces.  From  Wuchang,  Tong 
went  to  Shanghai,  and  there  on  the  18th  met  certain  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  other  revolting  provinces,  among  them  Dr. 
Wu  T’ing-fang,  formerly  the  Chinese  Minister  in  the 
United  States.  Tong  and  Wu  were  both  Cantonese.  The 
revolutionists  presented  their  proposals,  which  were  to  the 
effect  that  there  should  be  an  armistice  and  that  the  im¬ 
perial  troops  should  withdraw  100  li,  that  the  Emperor 
should  abdicate,  that  a  republic  should  be  established,  and 
that  an  annual  pension  should  be  paid  to  the  imperial 
family.  Tong  was  reported  as  favoring  the  acceptance  of 
these  terms.  He  telegraphed  them  to  Peking  but  secured 
no  response,  and  on  the  23d  of  December  the  conference 
adjourned.  Yuan  presented  his  resignation  to  the  Throne 
on  December  28th  but  it  was  not  accepted.  He  then  advo¬ 
cated  the  abdication  of  the  dynasty.  Dr.  Sun  Yat-sen, 
returning  from  abroad,  arrived  in  Shanghai  on  the  27th 
of  December,  and  on  the  29th  was  elected  President  by 
representatives  of  the  revolting  provinces,  except  Chekiang, 
which  protested.  On  New  Year’s  Day,  1912,  he  took  the 
oath  of  office  at  Nanking,  at  the  tomb  of  Hung-wu,  the 
founder  of  the  Ming  Dynasty.  It  was  rather  strange  to 
find  a  republican  President  taking  his  oath  at  the  tomb 
of  an  emperor ;  but  the  Mings  were  the  latest  Chinese  rulers 
of  China,  and  the  Chinese  had  again  come  into  their  own. 

It  had  been  proposed  on  December  28th,  in  a  decree  of 
the  Emperor,  that  the  form  of  government  should  be  left 
to  a  national  assembly  to  be  elected  later.  This  had  been 


483 


Setting  up  the  Republic 

accepted  by  the  republicans  on  the  29th  of  December.  But, 
with  the  election  of  Sun  as  President  of  a  republic  in  the 
south,  the  country  for  a  short  period  was  divided.  The 
southern  provinces  set  up  their  capital  at  Nanking,  adopted 
the  Western  calendar,  and  drew  up  a  provisional  constitu¬ 
tion,  under  which,  in  fact,  the  republic  of  to-day  still 
functions. 

On  January  17th  we  were  startled  by  the  report  that 
Yuan  had  been  assassinated.  He  was  attacked  as  he  was 
returning  home  from  the  palace.  Two  bombs  were  thrown, 
one  of  which  killed  the  captain  of  his  guard  and  wounded 
several  cavalrymen.  One  of  Yuan’s  carriage  horses  also 
was  killed,  but  he  himself  escaped  unhurt.  Opinions  dif¬ 
fered  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  attack.  Some  thought  the 
bomb  had  been  thrown  by  revolutionists;  others  believed 
the  monarchists  were  responsible,  for  the  monarchists  were 
charging  Yuan  with  treachery  to  the  dynasty.  Yuan  con¬ 
tinued  to  negotiate  with  the  southern  government,  and 
finally  came  to  an  agreement  with  them  on  February  7th, 
1912.  In  accordance  with  this  arrangement  the  Empress 
Lungyii,  Regent  and  foster-mother  of  the  boy  Emperor, 
abdicated  the  throne  on  February  12th.  At  the  same  time 
she  commissioned  Yuan  Shih-kai  to  establish  a  republic. 
She  gave  as  a  reason  for  this  surrender  of  the  throne  the 
desire  to  avoid  further  bloodshed. 

The  agreement  with  the  republicans  provided  that  the 
Emperor  should  retain  his  title  as  long  as  he  lived,  and 
should  receive  a  pension  of  four  million  taels  a  year.  This 
generous  treatment  of  the  imperial  family  was  well  de¬ 
served,  seeing  that  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  empire 
was  still  loyal  to  the  Manchus.  The  Chinese,  however, 
have  always  treated  with  honor  their  fallen  imperial  houses, 
out  of  respect  for  the  great  men  and  wise  rulers  that  they 
have  produced.  In  Peking  there  is  a  temple  erected  by  the 
Manchus  to  the  virtuous  rulers  of  former  dynasties.  The 
lineal  descendant  and  representative  of  the  emperors  of 
the  Sung  Dynasty  (A.D.  960-1278)  lives  in  Kuangtung 
Province  and  still  worships  there  the  spirits  of  his  an¬ 
cestors.  His  brother,  a  graduate  of  Columbia  University, 


484 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


is  the  well-known  president  of  a  technical  college.  The 
representative  of  the  Mongol  Dynasty  (A.D.  1260-1368), 
a  duke  who  is  descended  from  the  great  Kublai  Khan,  lives 
in  Peking,  as  does  also  the  Marquis  Chu  who  represents 
the  Ming  Dynasty  (A.D.  1368-1644),  and  keeps  up  the 
worship  at  the  celebrated  tombs  north  of  the  capital. 


BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

Other  conditions  of  the  agreement  between  Peking  and 
Nanking  were  of  considerable  interest.  Yuan  was  to  be 
chosen  President,  and  the  southern  government,  with  Sun 
at  its  head,  was  to  withdraw.  The  Emperor,  although 
retaining  his  own  title,  was  not  to  grant  any  new  titles 
of  nobility,  but  those  having  titles  were  permitted  to  retain 
them.  Under  the  Manchus  the  imperial  family  consisted 
of  four  ranks  of  princes,  four  grades  of  imperial  dukes, 
and  four  of  imperial  nobles.  These  titles  diminished  by 
one  degree  as  they  passed  from  father  to  son,  so  that  after 
twelve  generations  the  descendants  of  a  prince  became  com¬ 
moners,  unless  by  their  own  services  to  the  state  any  of 
them  should  have  merited  promotion. 

Outside  the  imperial  clan  there  were  eight  families  of 
iron-crowned  princes,  whose  titles  of  prince  were  perpetual 
and  did  not  diminish  in  degree  from  one  generation  to 
another.  These  were  descendants  of  those  Manchu  princes 
who  assisted  in  the  conquest  of  China.  The  family  of 
Confucius  and  the  descendants  of  the  Taoist  Pope  also 
transmit  their  titles  without  change. 

In  addition  to  the  nobles  of  the  imperial  clan  and  the 
eight  princely  families,  there  were  nine  ranks  of  nobility 
composed  of  distinguished  men  and  their  descendants,  upon 
whom  titles  were  conferred  for  services  to  the  state.  Some 
of  these  descended  unchanged  for  a  number  of  generations 
mentioned  in  the  patent,  but  all  eventually  diminished  by 
one  degree  as  they  passed  from  father  to  son,  unless  such 
son  earned  promotion  by  his  own  services.  Usually  the 
first  five  of  these  nine  titles  are  translated  by  the  five 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


485 


titles  known  in  European  heraldry;  duke,  marquis,  earl, 
viscount,  and  baron.  It  is  evident  from  what  has  been 
said  that,  since  no  new  titles  are  to  be  granted,  the  titled 
nobility  of  China  will  gradually  disappear,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  those  whose  rank  is  hereditary  forever. 

The  greatest  sufferers  by  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty  are  certain  Manchu  commoners,  the  bannermen, 
who,  born  to  the  profession  of  arms  and  the  inheritance 
of  a  pension,  have  had  no  profession  or  calling  upon  which 
to  depend  for  a  livelihood.  There  were  eight  banners, 
distinguished  by  their  colors.  The  highest  in  rank  was 
the  yellow  banner  with  the  white  border,  the  second  the 
plain  yellow,  the  third  the  plain  white,  the  fourth  the 
white  with  red  border,  the  fifth  the  plain  red,  the  sixth 
the  red  with  white  border,  the  seventh  the  plain  blue,  and 
the  eighth  the  blue  with  white  border.  Each  banner  con¬ 
tained  three  divisions ;  Manchu,  Mongol,  and  Chinese.  The 
Chinese  bannermen  were  descendants  of  those  who  aided 
the  Manchus  in  the  conquest  for  their  country.  The  pen¬ 
sions  paid  these  bannermen  varied  according  to  rank  from 
a  tael  (about  seventy  cents)  a  month  and  a  dole  of  rice, 
for  a  private,  to  Tls.  10,000  and  something  more  than  ten 
thousand  bushels  of  rice  each  year  to  a  prince  of  the  first 
rank.4  There  were  allowances  also  to  cavalrymen  for  their 
horses,  and  special  pensions  for  widows  and  spinsters,  as 
well  as  allowances  for  weddings  and  funerals.  The  banner- 
men  were  also  provided  with  houses,  and  in  some  of  the 
colonies  located  at  various  strategic  points  they  were  pro¬ 
vided  with  land.  When  the  monthly  stipend  in  silver  and 
the  rations  of  rice  were  stopped  by  the  revolution  many 
were  left  in  danger  of  starvation.  One  of  the  first  subjects 
discussed  by  the  republican  parliament  was  the  measures 
to  be  taken  for  the  relief  of  these  people. 

THE  PROVISIONAL.  GOVERNMENT 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  republicans  at  Nanking  to 
make  that  city  the  capital,  and  they  requested  Yuan  to 

*  Ta  Ch’ing  Hui  Tien,  Book  249. 


486 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


come  there  to  take  the  oath  of  office.  A  deputation  was 
sent  to  Peking  to  convey  the  request,  and  arrived  there 
on  February  26th.  They  were  received  with  great  honor, 
and  escorted  by  Yuan’s  representatives  to  their  quarters 
in  the  Nobles’  College.  On  passing  from  the  station  into 
the  Tartar  City  they  were  driven  through  the  central  gate 
of  the  curtain  wall  of  the  Ch’ien  Men,  a  gate  previously 
used  only  by  the  Emperor.  Since  they  were  representatives 
of  the  sovereign  people  it  seemed  proper  for  them  to  use 
the  sovereign’s  gate,  but  superstition  declared  that  such  a 
profanation  of  the  sacred  structure  would  bring  bad  luck 
to  the  city.  The  circulation  of  such  a  warning  prepared 
the  city  for  the  fulfillment  on  February  29th.  That  even¬ 
ing  the  Premier,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  entertained  the  leaders 
of  the  southern  delegation  at  dinner  in  the  Foreign  Office. 
Suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  feast  the  sound  of  a  gun  was 
heard.  Instantly  the  soldiers  on  guard  around  the  building 
fired  their  rifles  in  a  mutinous  riot.  The  electric  lights 
went  out  and  the  guests  were  left  in  darkness.  The  first 
place  attacked  by  the  soldiers  was  the  Nobles’  College.  The 
members  of  the  delegation  who  were  not  at  the  dinner 
scrambled  over  the  back  wall  of  the  compound  into  the 
grounds  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  where 
they  were  safe.  Then  there  began  a  systematic  looting  of 
the  banks,  silk-shops,  and  other  large  commercial  establish¬ 
ments.  Fires  broke  out  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  and 
for  three  days  Peking  was  in  a  panic.  The  signal  gun 
that  was  fired  sent  a  shell  over  the  city,  which  passed 
between  the  home  of  the  American  Minister  and  that  of 
the  surgeon  of  the  American  Guard,  struck  the  ground 
sidewise,  and  glanced  upward  through  a  tent  occupied  by 
several  American  marines,  hit  the  ceiling  of  the  verandah 
of  the  guard  barracks,  and  fell  sidewise  upon  the  floor 
without  exploding.  Luckily  no  one  was  hurt.  In  two 
minutes  our  guard  was  in  possession  of  the  tower  over 
the  Ch’ien  Men,  the  principal  gate  of  the  city,  and  held 
it  during  the  troubled  times  that  followed  for  two  years 
or  more.  The  Chinese  authorities  requested  the  diplomatic 
corps  to  take  charge  of  the  capital  and  restore  order.  The 


AUTOGRAPHED  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  TUAN-FANG,  VICE-  YUAN  SH I H-K'AI  —  FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF  ALL  CHINA. 

ROY  AT  NANKING.  MURDERED  BY  HIS 
TROOPS,  1911. 


. 

Vu 


. 

' 


' 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


487 


guards  of  the  various  legations  totaled  2000  or  more.  In 
addition  to  these  there  were  foreign  railway  guards  at 
Tientsin  and  other  points  between  Peking  and  the  sea. 
But  the  ministers  of  the  various  powers  declined  to  assume 
responsibility  for  order.  They  did,  however,  permit  the 
guards  to  march  to  and  fro  through  the  streets.  This  had 
a  quieting  effect  and  helped  to  relieve  the  fears  of  the 
people.  A  portion  of  the  16th  U.  S.  Infantry  at  Tientsin 
was  brought  up  to  strengthen  our  guard  and  to  give  pro¬ 
tection  to  the  various  American  missions  in  different  parts 
of  the  city. 

The  soldiers  engaged  in  pillage  belonged  to  the  3d  Divi¬ 
sion.  They  looted  very  thoroughly,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  second  day  seized  three  trains  on  the  Peking-Hankow 
Railway  and  departed  with  their  treasure.  The  third  day 
a  number  of  innocent  people,  poking  in  the  ashes  of  the 
burned  shops,  picked  up  various  articles  that  had  escaped 
destruction.  These  unfortunates  were  promptly  arrested 
and  executed.  The  republicans  in  the  south  were  disposed 
to  charge  Yuan  with  having  staged  the  mutiny  for  his  own 
purposes.  At  any  rate  the  delegation  was  convinced  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  retain  Peking  as  capital  in  order 
to  keep  the  north  quiet.  It  was  agreed  therefore  that  Yuan 
should  take  the  oath  of  office  in  Peking  as  provisional  Presi¬ 
dent  on  March  10th.  The  ceremony  was  a  simple  one, 
held  in  the  banquet  hall  of  the  Foreign  Office.  The  guests 
were  arranged  around  three  sides  of  the  hall.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  elect  was  escorted  into  the  room  by  a  few  military 
officers,  and  took  his  place  on  the  vacant  north  side.  He 
was  in  the  uniform  of  a  general.  He  removed  his  cap, 
read  his  oath,  and  handed  the  document  to  the  head  of  the 
Nanking  delegation.  He  then  received  representatives  of 
all  branches  of  the  government  and  of  the  non-Chinese 
citizens  of  the  Republic.  The  most  picturesque  were  the 
Tibetans,  in  purple  gowns  and  yellow  jackets  with  official 
hats.  To  them  the  President  gave  brilliant  scarfs,  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  Tibetan  custom. 


488 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


THE  PARLIAMENT 

The  reunion  of  the  north  and  south  under  a  republican 
government  was  followed  immediately  by  the  election  of 
a  new  National  Assembly.  This,  too,  was  of  a  provisional 
character.  It  met  at  Peking  on  the  29th  of  April.  On 
May  7th  it  was  decided  that  the  permanent  parliament 
should  consist  of  two  houses;  a  senate  representing  the 
provinces,  dependencies  and  certain  institutions,  and  the 
house  of  representatives,  to  be  chosen  from  districts  smaller 
than  the  provinces,  much  as  the  American  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives  is  chosen. 

This  two-chamber  parliament  was  duly  elected,  and  met 
in  the  spring  of  1913. 


THE  REORGANIZATION  LOAN 

In  the  meantime  the  new  government  was  struggling 
with  financial  problems.  It  was  estimated  that  the  two 
armies  north  and  south,  still  under  arms,  totaled  about 
a  million  men.  It  was  very  desirable  to  reduce  this  force 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  cabinet  hoped  to  get  rid  of 
the  expense  of  supporting  some  700,000  men.  This  could 
not  be  done  until  the  soldiers  were  paid,  and  there  would 
be  no  paying  until  a  loan  was  negotiated.  Application 
was  made  to  the  four-power  group  of  bankers  shortly  after 
the  abdication  of  the  Manchus,  and  advances  were  made 
to  meet  immediate  needs.  The  day  before  his  inauguration 
Yuan  had  given  these  bankers  a  firm  option  on  the  require¬ 
ments  of  the  government  for  the  succeeding  four  months 
and  an  option  on  the  reorganization  loan,  if  offered  at  terms 
as  favorable  as  could  be  obtained  elsewhere.  Yet  four  days 
after  his  inauguration  the  premier  Tong  Shao-yi  had  made 
a  loan  contract  with  an  outside  group.  The  real  reason 
for  this  breach  of  contract  undoubtedly  was  the  unwilling¬ 
ness  of  the  Chinese  to  submit  to  supervision  by  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  lenders  in  the  expenditure  of  the  loan.  There 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


489 


was  strong  opposition,  too,  to  the  demand  of  the  bankers 
for  the  reorganization,  under  foreign  management,  of  the 
salt  gabelle,  which  was  to  be  security  for  the  reorganization 
loan.  The  outside  group  of  bankers  was  no  doubt  en¬ 
couraged  by  the  Russian  Government,  which  wanted  repre¬ 
sentation  for  its  bankers  in  the  proposed  reorganization 
loan.  Japan  also  was  pressing  for  admission.  The  result 
was  that  Russian,  and  Japanese  interests  were  admitted  on 
June  21st,  when  the  four-power  became  a  six-power  group. 
There  were  many  difficulties  encountered,  and  the  negotia¬ 
tions  dragged  through  all  of  1912  and  the  spring  of  1913 
before  the  loan  agreement  was  finally  signed.  In  the  mean 
time  the  Republican  administration  at  Washington,  which 
had  inaugurated  “Dollar  Diplomacy,”  was  replaced  on 
March  4th,  1913,  by  a  Democratic  Government.  The  Ameri¬ 
can  Group  asked  the  new  administration  whether  it  desired 
to  continue  the  policy  of  the  Taft  administration  with 
regard  to  this  loan.  The  American  bankers,  it  should  be 
remembered,  had  declined  the  invitation  of  British  and 
French  bankers  to  join  in  the  loan  for  the  Canton-Hankow 
Railway  when  it  was  first  under  consideration,  and  they 
had  subsequently  joined  in  forming  the  four-power  group 
at  the  request  of  the  American  Government.  They  were 
unwilling  to  continue  in  the  six-power  group  unless  the 
new  administration  would  request  it.  This,  on  March  13th, 
1913,  President  Wilson  declined  to  do.  The  Americans 
therefore  withdrew,  and  the  loan,  as  finally  negotiated,  was 
made  by  a  five-power  group.  This  withdrawal  of  the 
Americans  was  regretted  by  the  Chinese,  several  of  whose 
high  officials  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  presence  of 
the  Americans  in  the  group  was  on  the  whole  favorable 
to  Chinese  interests.  The  action  of  the  Washington  Gov¬ 
ernment  was  apparently  based  upon  misinformation.  Five 
years  later  President  Wilson  reversed  his  policy,  and  in¬ 
vited  the  members  of  the  original  American  group,  together 
with  certain  other  banks,  to  undertake  the  formation  of 
a  new  international  consortium  to  undertake  loans  in  aid 
of  China.  This  new  consortium  is  still  laboring  with  the 
Chinese  problem,  but  has  as  yet  made  no  important  loan. 


490 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


Before  the  conclusion  of  the  loan  negotiations,  on  Feb¬ 
ruary  22d,  1913,  the  Chinese  capital  was  startled  to  find 
the  flag  over  the  entrance  to  the  Forbidden  City  flying  at 
half-mast.  Public  interest  for  months  had  been  concerned 
with  the  problems  of  the  new  republic,  and  the  rivalries 
and  jealousies  of  foreign  powers  shown  in  the  loan  negotia¬ 
tions.  The  inhabitants  of  the  palace  had  been  well-nigh 
forgotten.  The  Empress  Lungyii,  after  signing  the  edict 
of  abdication,  had  shut  herself  up  and  spent  her  days  in 
sorrow  and  tears.  Her  heart  was  broken.  Her  health  had 
given  way  and  death  had  come,  no  doubt,  as  relief.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  remainder  of  February  and  throughout  the  month 
of  March  the  palace  was  in  deep  mourning.  The  city 
generally  shared  in  this  mourning.  Three  days,  March 
18th,  19th,  and  20th,  were  set  aside  for  public  obsequies. 
An  altar  supporting  the  portrait  of  the  dead  empress  was 
erected  in  the  gateway  of  the  T’ai  Ho  Court,  before  which 
the  people  of  Peking  paid  their  respects.  During  these 
three  days  from  early  morning  until  night  the  inhabitants 
of  the  capital  passed  in  and  out  of  the  gates,  in  solemn, 
orderly  procession,  to  show  their  reverence  for  one  who, 
though  so  unhappy  herself,  had  done  so  much  to  promote 
the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  country.  On  April  3d  her 
coffin,  covered  by  a  richly  embroidered  canopy,  was  carried 
through  the  city,  followed  by  a  long  funeral  train  composed 
of  men  carrying  honorary  umbrellas  and  others  bearing 
trays  of  rich  gifts.  There  were  camels  and  horses,  too, 
laden  with  furs,  silks,  and  other  tribute  offerings  to  the 
spirit  of  the  dead.  A  special  railway  car  had  been  pre¬ 
pared,  which  carried  the  remains  and  the  funeral  offerings 
to  the  Western  Imperial  Cemetery,  to  the  tomb  which  was 
being  completed  there  for  her  late  husband. 

It  is  a  wonderfully  beautiful  valley  in  which  the  Western 
Cemetery  is  located.  The  inclosure  is  ten  miles  north  and 
south  and  five  miles  east  and  west,  guarded  on  the  north 
by  a  lofty,  precipitous  mountain  range  that  slopes  gradu¬ 
ally  down  in  a  horse-shoe  curve  on  the  east  and  west.  The 
valley  lies  open  to  the  warm  influences  of  the  south,  as 
required  by  geomantic  rules,  and  is  shaded  by  ash  and 


491 


Setting  up  the  Republic 

oak  and  elm,  with  groves  of  dark  cypress  around  the  tombs 
and  temples.  The  crimson  walls  and  golden  colored  tiles 
of  the  mausolea  in  the  midst  of  these  groves  make  a  beau¬ 
tiful  picture.  As  I  stood  on  a  slight  elevation  one  autumn 
afternoon,  and  saw  the  purple  mountains  in  the  distance, 
and  the  mellow  light  of  the  sun  streaming  through  the 
hazy  atmosphere,  shedding  a  halo  of  glory  on  the  tomb 
of  Yungcheng,  the  first  of  the  emperors  buried  there,  there 
came  to  my  mind  these  lines  of  Shirley ’s  hymn : 

The  glories  of  our  earthly  state 
Are  shadows,  not  substantial  things. 

There  is  no  armor  against  fate; 

Death  lays  his  icy  hand  on  kings. 

Sceptre  and  crown  must  tumble  down, 

And  in  the  dust  be  equal  made 

With  the  poor  crooked  scythe  and  spade. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  beauty  sleeps  the  ill-starred  mon¬ 
arch  Kuanghsu,  and  beside  him  his  unhappy  Empress 
Lungyii.  Yet  all  this  grandeur  can  do  nothing  to  lighten 
their  grief,  nor  can  it  diminish  by  a  single  jot  the  deep 
and  lasting  ignominy  of  a  reign  that  lost  an  empire. 


RECOGNITION  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

Although  the  Chinese  Government  regretted  the  with¬ 
drawal  of  the  American  group  from  the  loan  negotiations, 
the  motives  animating  the  American  Government  were 
greatly  appreciated.  President  Wilson  had  spoken  of  the 
terms  of  the  loan  as  “touching  very  nearly  the  adminis¬ 
trative  independence  of  China.  ”  He  had  objected,  too, 
to  the  pledging  of  particular  taxes,  “some  of  them  anti¬ 
quated  and  burdensome,  ’  ’  and  their  administration  by 
foreign  agents.  The  Chinese  saw  in  these  expressions  an 
evidence  of  American  friendship.  The  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  telegraphed  to  Washington  expressing  the  hope 
that  the  United  States  would  give  the  Chinese  Republic 
early  recognition.  It  had  fallen  to  the  author  in  February 
again  to  take  charge  of  the  legation,  and  under  all  the  cir- 


492 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


cumstances  it  seemed  to  him  that  such  recognition  would  be 
a  good  thing.  The  legation  therefore  recommended  it.  On 
April  7th  we  were  instructed  that,  when  the  National  As¬ 
sembly  had  been  convened  with  a  quorum,  and  had  or¬ 
ganized  for  business  by  the  election  of  officers,  we  should 
deliver  to  President  Yuan  a  message  from  President  Wil¬ 
son  recognizing  the  new  republic.  The  new  parliament  met 
on  April  8th,  and  the  organization  of  the  two  houses  was 
completed  on  April  30th.  On  May  2d  President  Yuan 
arranged  a  rather  elaborate  ceremony  for  the  reception  of 
President  Wilson’s  message.  The  city  was  decorated  with 
flags  and  there  was  great  rejoicing.  May  8th  was  set  aside 
as  a  national  holiday  in  celebration  of  the  event,  and  on 
that  day  representatives  of  the  National  Chamber  of  Com¬ 
merce,  the  guilds  of  Peking,  and  the  universities  and  public 
schools  formed  a  procession,  each  person  carrying  in  one 
hand  a  Chinese  flag  and  in  the  other  an  American  flag, 
and  came  to  the  legation  to  express  the  gratitude  of  the 
people  for  the  recognition  given  by  the  United  States. 


CONSTITUTION  MAKING 

One  of  the  first  tasks  performed  by  the  parliament  was 
the  selection  of  a  committee  to  draft  a  permanent  constitu¬ 
tion.  This  committee  chose  as  its  place  of  meeting  the 
Cln’i  Nien  Tien ,  the  pavilion  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven 
where  prayer  was  made  by  the  emperors  of  old  for  a  fruit¬ 
ful  year.  It  is  the  circular  building  with  a  triple  roof  of 
blue  tiles  erected  on  the  uppermost  of  the  three  terraces 
that  form  the  marble  altar  in  the  northern  section  of  the 
Temple  of  Heaven.  Without  doubt  it  is  the  most  beautiful 
building  in  Peking,  and  its  holy  associations  made  it  a 
fitting  place  for  the  deliberations  of  the  committee.  But 
the  work  of  the  committee  was  never  completed.  Almost 
at  the  beginning  it  was  seen  that  the  views  of  the  President 
and  those  of  the  majority  party  in  the  parliament  were 
at  variance.  The  committee  wanted  to  make  the  presidency 
an  office  simply  for  the  execution  of  the  will  of  the  parlia- 


Setting  up  the  Republic  493 

ment,  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  French  President. 
The  cabinet  was  to  be  headed  by  a  premier  responsible  to 
the  parliament.  The  provinces,  too,  were  to  have  a  large 
measure  of  autonomy.  President  Yuan,  on  the  other  hand, 
wanted  a  strongly  centralized  form  of  government,  and  was 
determined  not  to  be  a  mere  figure-head.  He  wanted  all 
the  powers  of  the  American  President,  together  with  the 
right  to  appoint  the  governors  of  the  provinces.  Yuan  had 
been  outwitted  in  the  elections,  but  would  not  submit  to 
the  rule  of  the  majority.  His  attempts  to  bribe  and  coerce 
led  the  more  radical  members  of  parliament  to  plot  insur¬ 
rection.  This  broke  out  in  the  early  summer  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley,  but  was  put  down  by  Yuan  without  much  difficulty. 
His  resort  to  martial  law  in  Peking,  and  to  secret  tribunals 
and  summary  executions,  terrorized  many  of  his  opponents 
and  for  a  time  silenced  them.  It  was  finally  agreed  that 
the  articles  of  the  constitution  dealing  with  the  election 
of  a  President  should  first  be  adopted,  and  such  an  election 
held  without  delay,  after  which  other  articles  could  be 
taken  up  and  dealt  with  more  leisurely.  One  reason  for 
adopting  this  arrangement  was  that  the  European  powers 
would  not  recognize  the  Republic  until  a  President  had 
been  duly  elected. 

ELECTION  AND  INAUGURATION 

On  October  6th  the  parliament  met  to  elect  a  President. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  disorder,  and  attempts  were  made 
by  Yuan’s  supporters  to  intimidate  the  opposition.  Soldiers 
in  civilian  dress  surrounded  the  parliament  house,  hustled 
and  threatened  the  members,  while  detectives  at  the  doors 
prevented  any  attempts  to  leave  the  house  and  break  up  the 
quorum.  The  session  lasted  from  8  a.m.  to  8  p.m.,  and 
finally  on  the  third  ballot  Yuan  was  elected.  The  following 
day  Li  Yuan-hung  was  elected  Vice  President.  The  in¬ 
auguration  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  T’ai  Ho  Tien,  the 
largest  hall  in  the  old  imperial  palace.  It  is  built  in  the 
center  of  an  enormous  courtyard,  where  at  New  Year’s 
receptions  under  the  imperial  regime  the  princes  and  nobles 


494 


Setting  up  the  Republic 


of  all  ranks  gathered  to  kotow  to  the  Emperor.  The  hall 
itself  is  about  200  feet  long,  100  feet  wide,  and  100  feet 
high,  erected  on  a  white  marble  terrace.  The  walls  are 
vermilion,  the  windows  covered  with  carved  lattices,  and 
the  bracket  cornices  painted  in  the  five  Chinese  colors. 
The  tiles  are  of  golden  color  and  glazed.  The  ceiling,  sup¬ 
ported  by  huge  pillars  of  teak  covered  with  red  lacquer 
and  gold,  is  paneled,  and  each  panel  decorated  with  the 
imperial  arms.  In  this  old  hall,  which  once  echoed  to  the 
tread  of  emperors,  where  even  imperial  princes  prostrated 
themselves  before  the  august  Son  of  Heaven,  there,  stand¬ 
ing  upon  the  dais  before  which  in  other  days  he  was  wont 
to  kotow,  Yuan  Shih-kai  took  the  solemn  oath  to  administer 
the  government  of  the  republic  in  accordance  with  the 
constitution.  It  is  regrettable  to  be  compelled  to  say  that 
he  did  not  keep  that  oath. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  DEMOCRACY 

Heaven  hears  and  sees  as  the  people  hear  and  see. 

Kao-yao,  B.C.  2255. 

These  are  the  ends  fo,r  which  the  associated  peoples  of  the  world 
are  fighting  and  which  must  be  conceded  them  before  there  can  be 
peace.  .  .  .  (2)  The  settlement  of  every  question,  whether  of  terri¬ 
tory,  of  sovereignty,  of  economic  arrangement,  or  of  political  rela¬ 
tionship  upon  the  basis  of  the  free  acceptance  of  that  settlement  by 
the  people  immediately  concerned. — Woodrow  Wilson. 

Immediately  after  his  inauguration  as  President,  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai  set  to  work  systematically  to  destroy  the  parlia¬ 
ment.  Charges  were  made  against  many  of  the  leaders 
of  the  liberal  party  that  they  had  been  involved  in  the 
insurrection  of  the  preceding  summer.  Orders  were  issued 
for  their  arrest.  Many,  remembering  the  summary  execu¬ 
tions  of  the  summer,  fled  from  Peking.  A  quorum  was 
wanting  in  either  house,  and  after  some  weeks  of  waiting 
the  members  dispersed.  The  President  then  organized  a 
new  national  assembly,  or  Council  of  State,  whose  member¬ 
ship  was  entirely  within  the  control  of  himself  and  those 
attached  to  his  fortunes.  Then  there  began  a  skillfully 
conducted  propaganda  to  make  it  appear  that  the  people 
of  China  were  calling  upon  Yuan  to  make  himself  emperor. 
With  feigned  indignation  he  put  the  prize  away  from  him, 
until  after  repeated  entreaties,  all  concocted  by  his  sub¬ 
ordinates,  with  pretended  reluctance  he  consented  to  accept 
the  crown.  It  was  duly  announced  that  the  empire  would 
be  proclaimed  upon  the  first  of  January,  1916.  A  few 
weeks  in  advance  of  that  date  the  imperial  Japanese  Gov¬ 
ernment,  which,  it  might  be  supposed,  would  be  the  last 
to  defend  the  republic,  gave  warning  to  Yuan  that  he 
could  not  be  allowed  to  make  himself  emperor.  That  was 

495 


/ 


496 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 

a  staggering  blow.  To  yield  to  the  threat  was  to  lose 
face.  To  proceed  with  his  plans  was  to  bring  disaster 
upon  himself  and  the  country.  To  add  to  his  confusion 
the  southern  provinces,  which  had  for  a  time  sullenly 
submitted  to  the  usurper,  suddenly  rose  in  insurrection. 
The  anxiety  of  Yuan  brought  on  the  return  of  an  old 
disease  and  this,  added  to  chagrin,  caused  his  death  in 
June,  1916.  The  real  reason,  of  course,  for  Japan’s  oppo¬ 
sition  to  Yuan’s  ambition,  was  not  love  of  the  republic 
but  hostility  to  Yuan,  whose  work  in  Korea  in  opposition 
to  Japan’s  plans  in  1883-94  had  never  been  forgotten  nor 
forgiven. 

Yuan  Shih-k’ai  had  many  admirable  traits  of  character. 
Where  his  judgment  was  not  clouded  by  personal  interests 
he  was  a  man  of  clear  vision  and  swift  decision — a  man 
with  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  He  was  loyal  to  his 
friends  and  generous  to  a  fault  in  his  treatment  of  them, 
but  he  was  remorselessly  cruel  in  his  punishment  of  his 
enemies.  He  admired  strength,  and  believed  that  a  strong 
government  was  necessary  to  the  peace  of  China.  It  was 
in  part,  perhaps,  the  strength  of  character  shown  by  the 
Empress  Dowager  that  caused  him  to  prefer  her  to  the 
weak  Emperor,  Kuanghsii.  Yet  his  sympathies,  as  shown 
by  his  course  as  Governor  and  Viceroy,  were  with  progress 
rather  than  reaction,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  resist  the 
Boxer  folly,  even  though  he  risked  the  favor  of  the  Dow¬ 
ager  Empress  in  so  doing.  As  has  been  shown  already, 
he  was  not  at  all  scrupulous  as  to  the  methods  employed 
to  attain  his  ends,  but  in  his  last  great  offense  he  permitted 
his  ambition  to  blind  him  to  the  real  situation.  He  laid 
his  hand  upon  the  ark  of  liberty  and  perished.  Whether 
he  intended,  when  first  chosen  President,  to  play  the  part 
of  a  Napoleon  and  make  himself  emperor,  is  doubted  by 
some,  who  think  he  was  pushed  on  by  his  family  and 
friends.  As  he  lay  in  his  coffin  his  old-time  friend  and 
companion,  Hsu  Shih-ch’ang,  recently  President  of  China, 
turned  to  the  son  of  the  dead  man,  it  is  reported,  and 
said:  “You  see  what  you  have  done  to  your  father.”  But 
Yuan  was  too  strong  a  character  to  be  warped  from  his 


1 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


497 


chosen  path  by  the  entreaties  of  others.  It  must  be  be¬ 
lieved,  rather,  that  the  entreaties  merely  reinforced  his 
own  secret  desires.  Among  Americans  and  Europeans  in 
China  there  were  many  who  admired  him,  and  who  still 
share  his  belief  that  the  government  of  the  strong  man  is 
what  China  needs.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency 
by  Li  Yuan-hung,  the  Vice  President,  a  loyal  republican 
who  had  refused  to  be  bribed  by  a  princely  title  to  support 
the  ambitious  plans  of  his  predecessor. 


THE  SHANTUNG  QUESTION 

In  1914,  while  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  was  still  President,  the 
Great  World  War  had  broken  out.  The  American  Gov¬ 
ernment  at  once  consulted  with  the  belligerents,  propos¬ 
ing  that  arrangements  be  made  to  circumscribe  the  area 
of  hostilities  in  the  Far  East.  China,  on  August  3,  1914, 
asked  the  belligerents  to  undertake  not  to  engage  in  hos¬ 
tilities,  either  in  Chinese  territory  and  marginal  waters, 
or  in  the  adjacent  leased  territories. 

These  measures  were  justified  by  the  fact  that  the  powers 
holding  these  leases  were  at  war,  one  with  another,  and 
by  the  existence  in  the  treaty  ports  of  China  of  various 
foreign  settlements,  some  under  international  control  and 
others  governed  exclusively  by  one  or  another  of  the  bel¬ 
ligerents.  Both  Great  Britain  and  Germany  replied  to 
the  overtures  of  the  American  Government,  expressing  a 
willingness  to  maintain  the  status  quo  in  the  Far  East. 
Germany  offered  to  engage  not  to  attack  British  colonies  or 
warships  or  commerce  in  the  Far  East,  in  return  for  cor¬ 
responding  promises  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain.  But 
before  the  arrangement  could  be  completed  Japan  had 
decided  to  act.  Early  in  August,  Japan  had  offered  to 
come  to  the  assistance  of  Great  Britain,  but  Great  Britain 
declined  the  offer,  since  she  was  looking  forward  to  some 
such  arrangement  as  that  contemplated  by  the  American 
plan,  and  was  desirous  of  keeping  the  war  out  of  the 
Far  East.  Japan,  on  August  13,  1914,  expressed  to 


498 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


China  her  displeasure  at  the  latter’s  appeal  to  the  good 
offices  of  the  United  States  in  support  of  her  request  for 
the  neutralization  of  her  coast.  Japan  by  that  date  had 
already  informed  the  British  Government  of  her  intention 
to  join  in  the  war  against  Germany,  and  had  given  assur¬ 
ance  that  she  would  respect  the  neutrality  and  territorial 
integrity  of  China. 

China  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  had  at  once  taken 
up  with  Germany  the  question  of  the  return  of  the 
Kiaochow  leased  territory,  but  before  these  negotiations 
were  completed  Japan  had  issued  her  ultimatum  to 
Germany.  A  member  of  President  Yuan’s  cabinet  is 
reported  to  have  stated  that  China  then  offered  to 
join  Japan  in  the  recovery  of  the  territory,  but  was 
rebuffed  by  Japan.  This  seems  improbable,  but,  if  true, 
China  showed  great  weakness  in  not  insisting  upon  joint 
action.  The  British  Government  did  insist  on  participa¬ 
tion  in  the  attack.  Japan’s  fleet  was  mobilized  on  August 
12th.  Pier  ultimatum  to  Germany  was  issued  on  the  15th. 
Germany  made  no  reply,  and  on  August  23d  Japan  de¬ 
clared  war.  Shortly  thereafter,  Japan  notified  China  that 
military  necessity  required  the  occupation  of  Chinese  dis¬ 
tricts  outside  the  leased  territory  of  Kiaochow.  Great 
Britain,  however,  recognized  no  such  necessity,  and  landed 
her  force  at  Laoshan  Bay,  inside  the  leased  territory  out 
of  reach  of  the  guns  of  the  German  forts.  Japan  proceeded 
to  Lungkou,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Shantung  Peninsula, 
about  100  miles  from  the  nearest  point  in  the  leased  ter¬ 
ritory,  landed  troops,  seized  the  post  and  telegraph  offices, 
constructed  a  military  railway  from  Lungkou  to  Weihsien 
on  the  Shantung  Railway,  a  distance  of  about  75  miles 
and  billeted  her  troops  upon  the  Chinese  peasants.  Sup¬ 
plies  for  the  army  were  seized  for  which  the  Japanese  paid 
in  military  notes.  They  were  charged  by  the  Chinese  with 
showing  great  harshness  and  cruelty  in  their  treatment 
of  the  peasants.  These  charges  were  confirmed  by  reports 
of  American  residents  in  Shantung. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


499 


china’s  protest 

The  Chinese  Government  at  that  time  was  at  peace  with 
all  the  belligerents,  and  protested  against  the  violation  of 
its  neutrality.  The  protest  was  unheeded.  On  September 
3d,  following  a  precedent  set  in  1904  during  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war  in  an  analogous  situation  in  Manchuria,  the 
Chinese  Government  established  a  zone  of  belligerency 
between  Lungkou  and  Kiaoehow  leased  territory.  Japan 
paid  no  attention  to  the  boundaries  of  this  zone,  but  pro- 
ceded  to  Weihsien  and  seized  the  railway  station  there. 
China  protested  again,  and  pointed  out  that  the  railway 
had  not  been  in  German  military  occupation,  but  under 
the  protection  of  China.  Japan  gave  no  heed  to  this 
protest,  but  moved  her  troops  over  the  railway  to  Tsinan, 
the  capital  of  Shantung,  254  miles  from  the  port  of  Tsing- 
tao,  and  took  possession  of  the  whole  length  of  the  railway, 
which  has  been  operated  by  them  ever  since.  China  made 
another  protest  on  September  30th,  which  also  went  un¬ 
heeded.  The  forts  at  Tsingtao  surrendered  on  November 
7,  1914,  to  the  Japanese  and  British  forces,  and  on  the 
16th  of  that  month  the  victorious  armies  entered  the  city. 
There  being  no  further  need  for  the  occupation  by  Japan 
of  districts  outside  the  leased  territory,  China,  in  December, 
1914,  took  up  with  Japan  the  matter  of  withdrawing  her 
troops  from  those  districts,  and  that  of  the  abolition  of 
the  zone  of  belligerency.  Japan  objected,  although  she 
had  not  limited  her  military  operations  to  that  zone.  On 
January  7,  1915,  China  gave  official  notice  to  Great  Britain 
and  Japan  that  the  zone  was  abolished.  Japan  replied 
protesting  that  this  was  an  unfriendly  action,  since  China 
had  not  waited  for  Japan’s  reply  to  her  request  made  in 
December  for  the  withdrawal  of  her  troops.  The  Japanese 
not£  added : 

We  cannot  acquiesce  therein  under  any  circumstances.  The 
Imperial  Government  deems  it  necessary  to  declare  that,  even  if 
your  Government  actually  cancels  the  communications  concerning 
the  creation  of  a  war  zone,  the  Imperial  Government  would  not 


500 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


permit  the  movement  and  actions  of  their  troops  within  a  neces¬ 
sary  period  to  be  affected  or  restricted  by  such  act  of  cancella¬ 
tion.1 

THE  TWENTY-ONE  DEMANDS 

On  January  18,  1915,  Japan  followed  up  the  protest 
by  a  presentation  of  the  Twenty-one  Demands.  These  de¬ 
mands  were  divided  into  five  groups.  The  first  related 
to  the  province  of  Shantung,  in  which  the  territory  form¬ 
erly  leased  to  Germany  is  situated.  It  required  China  to 
assent  to  any  arrangement  which  Japan  might  thereafter 
make  with  Germany  respecting  the  disposition  of  the 
former  German  rights  in  Shantung.  It  also  required  China 
to  promise  not  to  cede  or  lease  any  territory  in  Shantung, 
or  islands  along  its  coast,  to  a  third  power,  and  asked  the 
right  to  build  a  railway  from  Chefoo  or  Lungkou  to  con¬ 
nect  with  the  Shantung  Railway,  which  had  just  been 
seized  by  Japan.  More  cities  in  Shantung  were  to  be 
opened  to  foreign  residence  and  trade. 

The  second  group  demanded  that  China  acknowledge 
Japan’s  predominant  position  in  South  Manchuria  and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  and  required  China  to  extend  the 
lease  of  the  Kuantung  Peninsula,  which  by  the  original 
agreement  with  Russia  was  to  expire  in  1923,  to  a  ninety- 
nine  year  period,  to  end  in  1997,  and  that  of  the  South 
Manchurian  Railway  from  1928  to  2002.  It  also  required 
China  to  extend  the  fifteen-year  lease  of  the  Mukden- 
Antung  line  to  ninety-nine  years,  to  end  in  2007,  and  to 
•  give  a  ninety-nine  year  lease  to  the  Kirin-Ch’angch’un 
line.  Japanese  were  to  have  a  right  to  own  or  lease  land 
in  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  both 
for  commercial  and  agricultural  purposes.  Demand  was 
made  also  for  certain  mining  privileges,  and  China  was 
to  ask  and  obtain  Japan’s  consent  before  granting  to  a 
third  power  the  right  to  build  a  railway,  or  to  make  a  loan 
to  build  a  railway,  in  either  region  mentioned,  or  to  make 

i  MacMurray ’s  Treaties  and  Agreements  with  and  Concerning 
China,  Vol.  ii,  p.  1158. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy  501 

any  loan  whatever  secured  upon  the  taxes  of  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia  or  South  Manchuria. 

The  Japanese  were  also  to  be  first  consulted  in  case  any 
political,  financial,  or  military  advisers  or  instructors  were 
to  be  engaged  for  either  of  the  districts  mentioned. 

The  third  group  required  China  to  consent  to  the  con¬ 
version  of  its  greatest  iron  mining  and  smelting  concern, 
the  Han-Yeh-P’ing  Company,  into  a  joint  Sino-Japanese 
enterprise,  and  aimed  to  pledge  China  not  to  allow  the 
company  to  dispose  of  any  interest  in  this  property  with¬ 
out  Japan’s  consent,  and  not  to  permit  any  mines  in  the 
neighborhood  of  those  owned  by  the  company  to  be  worked 
by  any  other  persons. 

The  fourth  group  pledged  the  Chinese  Government  not 
to  cede  or  lease  to  a  third  power  any  harbor,  bay  or  island 
along  the  coast  of  China. 

The  fifth  demanded  that  China  employ  Japanese  as 
advisers  to  the  central  government  in  political,  financial, 
and  military  affairs.  This  was  the  course  taken  by  Japan 
in  Korea  when  preparing  for  the  establishment  of  a  pro¬ 
tectorate  over  that  country.  Japanese  hospitals,  churches 
and  schools  were  to  have  the  right  to  own  land  in  the 
interior  of  China.  This  group  also  demanded  police  rights 
in  China  for  Japanese  in  certain  districts,  and  pledged 
China  either  to  buy  fifty  per  cent  or  more  of  her  muni¬ 
tions  from  Japan,  or  to  establish  a  Sino-Japanese  arsenal 
which  was  to  use  Japanese  material  and  employ  Japanese 
technical  experts.  It  also  asked  certain  railway  privileges, 
and  sought  to  prevent  any  contracts  for  industrial  enter¬ 
prise  in  Fukien  Province  with  foreign  capital  without 
Japan’s  consent.2 

Most  of  the  demands,  as  is  easily  seen,  were  an  encroach¬ 
ment  upon  the  sovereignty  of  China.  No  sovereign  in¬ 
dependent  state,  except  after  humiliating  defeat  in  war, 
will  allow  another  power  to  dictate  to  it  in  such  matters 
as  those  concerned  in  these  demands.  Yet  these  demands 
were  made  of  China,  not  after  an  armed  conflict  but  in 

2  For  the  official  text  of  the  demands  see  MacMurray’s  Treaties 
and  Agreements  with  and  concerning  Chiua,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1231-1234. 


502 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 

a  time  of  peace  between  the  two  countries.  It  was,  how¬ 
ever,  a  time  of  war  in  Europe,  when  the  world’s  eyes  were 
directed  elsewhere,  and  the  nations  were,  most  of  them,  too 
busy  to  protest.  It  was,  as  a  Japanese  publicist  said: 
‘‘the  opportunity  of  a  thousand  years.” 

The  presentation  of  the  demands  was  made  in  an  un¬ 
usual  manner.  Instead  of  handing  them  to  the  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  the  Japanese  Minister  at  Peking  placed 
them  directly  in  the  hands  of  President  Yuan  Shih-k’ai, 
which  emphasized  the  affront;  and,  in  so  doing,  Minister 
Hioki  warned  the  President  against  making  the  demands 
known  to  other  powers,  on  pain  of  serious  consequences  to 
China.  At  the  same  time  Yuan  was  reminded  that  Japan 
was  not  favorable  to  his  government  but  could  be  made 
so  by  proper  action.  Notwithstanding  the  effort  of  Japan 
to  keep  the  demands  secret,  they  quickly  became  known. 
On  February  3,  1915,  the  Japanese  Foreign  Office  issued 
an  authoritative  statement,  declaring  that  the  demands 
involved  no  violation  of  the  territorial  integrity  of  China 
and  no  impairment  of  foreign  rights  there.  On  the  11th 
of  the  same  month,  the  representative  of  the  Associated 
Press  in  Peking  telegraphed  to  New  York  a  trans¬ 
lation  of  the  demands  which  was  almost  literally  correct. 
The  Associated  Press  refused  to  publish  them  because 
the  Japanese  Embassy  denied  the  truth  of  the  report. 
The  correspondent  was  asked  to  confirm  his  report. 
He  was  so  indignant  that  he  offered  his  resignation 
and  was  replaced.  Prior  to  this,  on  February  8th, 
the  Japanese  Government  had  communicated  to  the 
powers  interested  in  the  Far  East  a  memorandum, 
purporting  to  give  the  list  of  the  demands,  but  in 
reality  one  containing  merely  a  brief  outline  of  eleven 
of  the  first  fourteen,  and  omitting  altogether  those  of 
Group  Y.  Even  of  the  eleven  communicated  those  which 
were  of  most  concern  to  other  nations  were  so  modified  as 
to  conceal  their  most  offensive  features. 

In  view  of  the  dispute  as  to  the  character  of  these  de¬ 
mands  the  Chinese  Government,  on  February  17th,  made 
known  the  complete  text.  This  led  Japan,  on  February 


503 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 

22d,  to  issue  a  supplementary  statement  containing  seven 
of  the  missing  ten  demands,  and  to  explain  that  these  were 
not  demands  but  requests.  In  presenting  them  to  President 
Yuan,  however,  Minister  Hioki  made  no  such  distinction, 
and  as  late  as  April  2,  1915,  the  Japanese  Legation  at 
Peking  officially  informed  the  Chinese  Foreign  Office  that 
the  Japanese  Government  recognized  no  such  distinction, 
and  would  insist  upon  Group  V  equally  with  the  others. 

The  negotiations  dragged  along  for  five  months.  On 
April  26th,  the  Japanese  submitted  a  revised  list,  number¬ 
ing  twenty-four  demands  instead  of  twenty-one,  but  less 
offensive  in  some  respects  than  the  original  twenty-one. 
The  increase  to  twenty-four  was  made  by  separating  those 
relating  to  South  Manchuria  from  those  concerned  with 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia.  The  last-mentioned  region  was 
one  in  which  it  was  more  difficult  than  in  South  Manchuria 
to  grant  the  privileges  asked.  In  presenting  the  revised 
demands,  the  Japanese  Minister  stated  that,  if  the  Chinese 
Government  would  agree  to  the  revised  list  without  mod¬ 
ification,  Japan  would  promise  to  restore  the  Kiaochow 
Leased  Territory  to  China  at  an  opportune  time  in  the 
future.  With  respect  to  some  of  the  demands  China  had 
yielded  during  the  progress  of  the  negotiations,  but  on 
May  1st  seemed  less  disposed  than  ever  to  agree  to  others, 
and  even  made  counter  demands  upon  Japan.  Briefly 
they  were  as  follows : 

1.  Unconditional  restitution  to  China  of  the  leased  ter¬ 
ritory  of  Kiachow. 

2.  Agreement  by  Japan  to  the  participation  of  China 
in  the  peace  conference  between  Japan  and  Germany. 

3.  The  Japanese  Government  to  bear  the  damages  inci¬ 
dent  to  hostilities  in  China  between  Japan  and  Germany. 

4.  Immediate  removal  of  all  the  Japanese  military  estab¬ 
lishments  connected  with  hostilities  between  Germany  and 
Japan,  and  the  prompt  withdrawal  of  Japanese  troops 
from  within  China’s  neutral  territory. 

The  courage  shown  in  making  these  demands  was  ad¬ 
mirable;  one  may  question  the  wisdom.  Japan  replied  on 


504  The  Struggle  for  Democracy 

May  7th  with  an  ultimatum,  requiring  China"  within  fifty- 
one  hours  to  agree  to  the  amended  articles  of  the  first  four 
groups  and  one  article  of  the  amended  Group  V,  failing 
which  Japan  would  take  such  action  as  she  might  deem 
necessary  to  meet  the  situation.  At  the  same  time  J apanese 
reservists  in  Mukden  were  ordered  to  report  at  their  sta¬ 
tions,  and  Japanese  residents  at  Peking,  Hankow  and 
Canton  instructed  to  seek  places  of  safety.  A  Japanese 
war  ship  was  sent  to  Chingwantao. 

The  note  embodying  the  ultimatum  agreed  to  withdraw 
and  reserve  for  future  consideration  all  the  demands  of 
Group  V  except  the  one  relating  to  Fukien  Province.  The 
promise  to  return  Kiaochow  Leased  Territory  still  held 
good. 

China  for  centuries  had  been  taught  the  foolishness  of 
war.  The  military  art  had  been  neglected.  Military  of¬ 
ficers  were  despised  by  civil  officials.  The  Confucian 
classics  taught  in  the  schools  emphasized  the  doctrine  that 
if  the  government  is  just  it  will  meet  with  just  treatment. 
But  here  was  a  situation  for  which  such  teaching  made 
no  provision.  China  was  helpless  and  had  to  submit.  On 
May  25th,  two  treaties  were  signed.  That  relating  to  the 
province  of  Shantung  yielded  the  demands,  except  that 
the  item  relating  to  the  alienation  of  territory  was  em¬ 
bodied  in  an  exchange  of  notes,  and  provided  that  no 
territory  or  island  along  the  coast  would  be  leased  or 
ceded  “to  any  foreign  power” — not  merely  to  a  “third 
power.”  This  treaty  was  accompanied  also  by  another 
exchange  of  notes,  which  provided  that  when  the  territory 
of  Kiaochow  at  the  close  of  the  war  should  be  left  to  the 
free  disposal  of  Japan,  this  power  would  restore  it  to  China 
upon  four  conditions: 

1.  The  whole  bay  to  be  open  to  foreign  residence  and 
trade. 

2.  A  concession  under  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  Japan 
to  be  established  at  some  place  there  to  be  chosen  by  Japan. 

3.  Another  settlement,  if  desired,  to  be  set  aside  for  other 
foreign  residents. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy  505 

4.  Disposition  of  public  properties  to  be  arranged  by 
China  and  Japan. 

The  second  treaty,  relating  to  South  Manchuria  and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  omitted  the  preamble  of  the  draft 
which  was  to  recognize  Japan’s  predominant  position  in 
those  regions.  It  granted  practically  all  that  was  asked 
respecting  South  Manchuria,  except  the  lease  of  the  Kirin- 
Ch’angch’un  Railway  for  ninety-nine  years.  Instead 
China  agreed  to  revise  the  then  existing  agreement  relating 
to  the  loan  for  that  line.  This  was  done  on  October  12, 
1917.  The  loan  is  to  run  for  thirty  years,  and  during 
that  period  the  South  Manchurian  Railway  Company  is 
to  operate  the  line.  In  the  phraseology  finally  adopted 
the  notes  relating  to  loans  for  railway  building  and  other 
purposes,  and  the  employment  of  advisers,  are  made  per¬ 
missive,  not  mandatory;  but  this  counts  for  little  where  a 
weak  power  is  being  coerced  by  a  strong  one. 

With  respect  to  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  nothing  was 
granted,  save  that  China  agreed  to  open  certain  cities  and 
towns  to  foreign  residence  and  trade,  and  promised  that, 
if  any  foreign  capital  should  be  needed  for  railways  there, 
or  any  foreign  capital  borrowed  on  the  security  of  the 
taxes  of  that  region,  negotiations  would  be  opened  first 
with  Japanese  capitalists. 

The  demands  of  Group  III  were  divested  in  the  main 
of  those  features  to  which  China  and  other  powers  had 
objected.  China  was  pledged  not  to  object  to  the  cooper¬ 
ation  of  Japanese  capitalists  in  the  Han-Yeh-P’ing  enter¬ 
prise,  and  promised  not  to  confiscate  the  property  nor 
convert  it  into  a  state  enterprise  without  Japan’s  consent. 
Japan’s  claim  to  such  pledges  is  based  upon  the  existence 
of  a  large  loan  to  the  company  by  Japanese  capitalists. 

The  demands  of  Group  IV,  pledging  China  not  to  alien¬ 
ate  to  any  other  power  than  Japan  any  harbor  or  island 
along  the  coast  of  China  was  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty. 
To  have  done  so  would  have  given  Japan  as  a  sphere  of 
interest  the  whole  coast  of  China,  if  precedents  set  in  1898 
were  to  be  followed.  All  the  items  of  Group  V  were 


506 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


reserved  for  later  negotiations,  except  number  6,  which  in 
the  revised  form  required  China  to  promise  that  no  nation 
would  be  permitted  to  construct  a  dockyard,  a  coaling 
station,  or  a  naval  base  on  the  coast  of  Fukien.  China  was 
herself  forbidden  to  construct  such  works  for  her  own 
defense  with  any  foreign  capital  other  than  Japanese.  The 
demand  was  complied  with  in  an  exchange  of  notes.  This 
demand  was  no  doubt  due  in  part  to  a  rumor  that  the 
Bethlehem  Steel  Corporation  had  entered  into  a  contract 
with  the  Chinese  Government  to  construct  such  a  naval 
station  at  Mamoi  on  the  Fukien  coast.  No  such  contract 
existed,3  but  the  rumor,  coupled  with  the  enquiry  made 
by  Secretary  Hay  in  1900,  asking  Japan’s  consent  to  the 
establishment  on  that  coast  of  an  American  coaling  station, 
not  unnaturally  created  some  anxiety  in  Japan.4 


AMERICAN  INTERESTS  IN  THE  TWENTY-ONE  DEMANDS 

The  demands  as  finally  revised  and  agreed  to  were  less 
serious  than  they  were  as  originally  presented.  This  will 
be  seen  from  the  review  just  made.  Nevertheless  the 
agreements  embodied  in  the  treaties  and  notes  signed  on 
May  25,  1915,  seemed  to  affect  rather  gravely  the  sover¬ 
eignty  and  administrative  integrity  of  China,  and  to  im¬ 
pair  the  treaty  rights  of  other  powers. 

The  American  Government,  on  March  13,  1915,  presented 
to  the  Japanese  Ambassador  a  memorandum  reviewing 
American  policy  in  the  Far  East,  and  the  pledges  given 
by  Japan  and  other  powers  to  maintain  the  Open  Door 
in  China.  The  Secretary  of  State  pointed  out  the  conflict 
between  American  treaty  rights  and  the  privileges  which 
Japan  was  seeking  for  herself.  Again  on  May  13th,  shortly 
before  the  signing  of  the  treaties,  the  American  Govern¬ 
ment  addressed  identical  notes  to  China  and  Japan,  refus¬ 
ing  to  recognize  any  agreement  or  undertaking  impairing 
the  treaty  rights  of  the  United  States  and  its  citizens  in 

3  See  MacMurray,  op.  cit.,  p.  1236. 

4  See  Chapter  XX  ante. 


FORTIFICATION  AT  ENTRANCE  TO  BRITISH  LEGATION. 


AMERICAN  MINISTER’S  RESIDENCE. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


507 


China,  the  political  or  territorial  integrity  of  the  Republic 
of  China,  or  the  Open  Door  Policy.5 


THE  SECRET  TREATIES  OF  1917  AND  1918 

Examination  of  the  treaty  of  May  25,  1915,  relating  to 
Shantung,  and  of  the  notes  attached  to  it,  will  show  that 
while  Japan  promised  to  return  the  leased  territory  to 
China,  no  mention  was  made  of  any  intent  to  return  the 
Shantung  Railway.  This  important  railway,  whose  port 
facilities  are  the  finest  in  north  China,  and  whose  extensions 
as  planned  will  make  it  one  of  the  most  important  channels 
of  communication  in  China,  has  been  ever  since  the  seizure 
by  Japan  the  item  most  difficult  of  adjustment  in  the  nego¬ 
tiations  between  China  and  Japan  for  the  settlement  of 
the  Shantung  question.  Based  upon  the  fiction  that  Ger¬ 
many  had  held  the  railway  in  military  occupation — a  state¬ 
ment  which  seems  to  be  contrary  to  fact — the  Japanese 
occupied  the  whole  line  with  their  troops.  The  Chinese 
protested  in  vain,  as  has  been  shown.  Their  efforts  to  have 
the  troops  withdrawn  resulted  in  their  own  humiliation 
by  the  treaties  which  they  were  forced  to  sign  on  May  25, 
1915.  Military  occupation  led  to  an  attempt  by  the  Jap¬ 
anese  to  establish  a  civil  administration  along  the  railway. 
On  October  1,  1917,  an  imperial  ordinance  was  promul¬ 
gated  establishing  such  civil  administration  for  the  leased 
territory  and  the  “railway  zone.”  The  existence  of  a 
railway  zone  in  Shantung  was  another  convenient  fiction. 
No  such  zone  was  known  to  the  agreements  with  Germany. 
One  article  of  the  Convention  of  March  6,  1898,  concern¬ 
ing  the  lease  of  Kiaochow  Bay  stipulated  that  German 
subjects  might  develop  mines  within  30  li  (ten  miles)  on 
either  side  of  the  railway,  but  this  concession  did  not 
carry  with  it  any  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  concerned, 
and  the  right  to  mine  in  such  territory  was  expressly  sur¬ 
rendered  in  1911,  in  exchange  for  the  grant  of  specific 
mining  areas  in  four  districts. 

e  MacMnrray,  op.  cit.,  p.  1236. 


508 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


The  Chinese  Government  promptly  protested  against  the 
encroachment  upon  its  sovereignty.  The  American  Gov¬ 
ernment,  in  December,  1917,  communicated  with  Japan, 
making  enquiry  concerning  the  reported  establishment  of 
civil  government,  saying  it  was  loath  to  believe  that  such 
aggression  had  taken  place.  Japan  replied  that  there  had 
been  a  misapprehension — that  the  phrase  “  civil  adminis¬ 
tration  ”  did  not  imply  domestic  administration.  This 
statement  seemed  to  be  somewhat  disingenuous.  This  civil 
administration  in  the  spring  of  1918  attempted  to  take 
a  census  of  American  missionaries,  who  declined  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  its  authority.  Despite  China’s  protest  the  civil 
administration  continued  to  function  until  the  autumn  of 
1918.  In  order  to  quiet  the  agitation  of  the  people  of 
Shantung  China  signed  a  secret  treaty  with  Japan  on 
September  24th  of  that  year,  agreeing  to  surrender  the 
whole  railway  line  to  a  Sino-Japanese  company  still  to  be 
formed,  and  which  was  to  police  the  line  with  Chinese 
police  under  Japanese  officers,  in  return  for  which  con¬ 
cession  Japan  was  to  withdraw  her  troops,  except  a  con¬ 
sular  guard  at  Tsinan,  and  abolish  the  civil  administra¬ 
tion. 

Before  the  establishment  of  the  civil  administration 
along  the  railway,  Japan  had  taken  certain  other  measures 
designed  to  strengthen  her  position  in  Shantung.  In  Janu¬ 
ary,  1917,  the  under-sea  warfare  had  become  more  and 
more  severe.  Both  Great  Britain  and  Prance  were  nego¬ 
tiating  with  Japan  in  an  endeavor  to  obtain  the  assistance 
of  the  Japanese  navy  in  removing  this  menace.  Japan 
was  willing  to  give  this  assistance  provided  her  allies  would 
agree  to  support  her  claims  at  the  Peace  Conference  to 
the  former  German  rights  in  Shantung  and  the  islands  in 
the  Pacific,  north  of  the  equator  which  had  formerly  be¬ 
longed  to  Germany. 

The  situation  became  still  more  critical  when  Germany, 
on  January  31,  1917,  notified  the  American  Government 
that  after  February  1st  of  that  year,  all  vessels,  neutral 
as  well  as  belligerent,  found  within  a  defined  zone  around 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Italy  and  in  the  eastern  Mediter- 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


509 


ranean  would  be  sunk.  To  obtain  the  assistance  needed 
to  overcome  this  menace  Great  Britain,  in  an  exchange 
of  notes  with  Japan,  dated  February  16,  1917,  agreed  as 
requested  to  support  Japan’s  claims.  However,  the  quid 
pro  quo  mentioned  in  the  notes  was  not  naval  assistance, 
but  a  support  by  Japan  of  British  claims  to  the  former 
German  islands  south  of  the  equator.  For  some  reason  it 
was  not  thought  desirable  to  have  it  appear  that  the  naval 
assistance  of  an  ally  could  be  had  only  upon  the  terms 
mentioned.  That  the  real  quid  pro  quo  was  the  sorely 
needed  naval  assistance  was  disclosed  to  the  American 
delegation  to  the  Peace  Conference  on  January  18,  1919, 
by  a  member  of  the  British  delegation.  This  was  con¬ 
firmed  later  by  the  British  Premier,  Lloyd  George,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Council  of  Three  on  April  22d,  when  he 
explained  that  Great  Britain  was  bound  to  support  the 
claims  of  Japan,  saying  that  when  this  engagement  was 
made  the  submarine  campaign  was  very  formidable,  that 
there  was  a  shortage  of  torpedo  boat  destroyers  in  the 
Mediterranean,  that  Japanese  help  was  urgently  required, 
and  that  the  Japanese  had  asked  for  this  arrangement  to 
be  made.  Great  Britain  was  hard  pressed  and  had  agreed. 
France  also  exchanged  secret  notes  with  Japan,  dated 
March  1,  1917,  promising  her  support,  in  return  for  which 
Japan  was  to  give  support  to  an  effort  to  induce  China 
to  break  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  deport 
Germans  from  China,  and  sequestrate  their  property. 

Japan,  it  was  alleged  in  Peking,6  had  for  two  years  op¬ 
posed  the  efforts  of  Great  Britain  and  France  to  induce 
China  to  enter  the  war,  on  the  side  of  the  allies.  This, 
if  true,  explains  the  insertion  in  the  exchange  of  notes  with 
France,  of  the  clause  just  mentioned.  Russia  gave  her 
promise  to  support  Japan’s  claims  in  another  secret  note, 
dated  March  5th  and  Italy  subsequently  bound  herself  by 
an  oral  promise.  All  these  secret  agreements  were  kept 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  United  States,  even  after  its 
entrance  into  the  war,  and  were  not  disclosed  until  the 

a  Putnam  Weale’a  “The  Fight  for  the  Republic  in  China, M  pp. 
231-239. 


510 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


meeting  of  the  Peace  Conference.  Having  secured  the 
support  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Russia  and  Italy,  the 
Government  of  Japan  next  sought  to  obtain  from  the 
United  States  such  a  recognition  of  its  special  interests  in 
China  as  would  weaken  American  opposition  to  Japan’s 
ambitions  in  Shantung  and  Manchuria,  and  perhaps  pave 
the  way  to  support  of  them  by  the  United  States  at  the 
Peace  Conference.  Such  recognition  was  obtained  in  the 
Lansing-Ishii  notes  of  November  2,  1917,  already  discussed 
elsewhere.7  These  notes  obtained  from  the  American  Gov¬ 
ernment  a  recognition  of  Japan’s  special  interest  in  China, 
particularly  in  the  regions  contiguous  to  Japanese  territory. 


CHINA  IN  THE  WAR 

The  American  Government  having  received  Germany’s 
note  of  January  31,  1917,  threatening  destruction  to  all 
vessels,  neutral  or  belligerent,  found  after  February  1st 
within  certain  zones,  Secretary  Lansing,  on  February  3d 
at  the  direction  of  the  President  announced  the  severance 
of  all  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  and  the  following 
day  urged  the  other  neutral  nations  of  the  world  to  take 
similar  action.  China  responded  promptly  on  February 
9th  by  sending  a  warning  to  Germany  of  her  intention  to 
sever  relations  if  Germany  should  carry  out  her  threat 
against  neutral  commerce.  At  the  same  time  the  Chinese 
Government  assured  the  United  States  of  her  sympathy 
with  our  government  in  the  action  taken.  Germany  did 
not  reply  to  China  until  March  10th,  the  very  day  on 
which  the  President  of  China  recommended  to  Parliament 
the  severance  of  relations.  This  action  was  directly  due 
to  the  sinking  a  few  days  earlier  of  the  French  steamship 
Athos,  with  the  loss  of  the  lives  of  500  Chinese  who  were 
on  their  way  to  France  as  a  labor  battalion. 

The  Chinese  Parliament  responded  promptly  on  March 
12th  to  the  suggestion  of  President  Li,  by  a  vote  approving 
the  proposed  breaking  off  of  diplomatic  relations  with 

7  See  Chapter  XX. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


511 


Germany.  This  was  done  on  March  14th.  Then  there 
commenced  a  strange  contest.  The  Premier,  Tnan  Chi-Jui, 
who  was  also  Minister  of  War,  was  for  an  immediate  dec¬ 
laration  of  war,  but  a  large  party  in  parliament  believed 
it  unnecessary  to  go  to  war,  particularly  since  China  was 
in  a  very  poor  state  of  defense.  A  more  potent  reason  for 
withholding  the  declaration  of  war  was  the  fear  that  the 
premier  was  bent  on  building  up  a  strong  army  to  overawe 
parliament,  rather  than  to  make  war  on  Germany.  This 
fear  was  due  to  the  known  attitude  of  Premier  Tuan,  who 
held  the  view  that  China  needed  a  strong  central  govern¬ 
ment,  and  who  did  not  sympathize  with  the  ruling  party 
in  parliament,  whose  draft  of  a  constitution,  almost  com¬ 
pleted,  provided  a  very  large  measure  of  autonomy  for 
the  provinces.  The  suspicion  concerning  the  premier’s 
aims  was  strengthened  by  the  appearance  of  Japanese 
agents  who  were  reported  to  be  making  a  large  loan  to 
the  premier  and  his  party.  The  President,  Li  Yuan-hung, 
was  in  favor  of  an  immediate  declaration  of  war,  but  he 
sympathized  with  the  views  of  the  majority  party  in 
parliament  in  the  matter  of  the  constitution.  The  party 
opposed  to  the  war  was  supported  by  Dr.  Sun  Yat-sen, 
who  addressed  a  telegram  to  Lloyd  George,  protesting 
against  the  effort  being  made  to  induce  China  to  declare 
war  on  Germany.  Dr.  Sun  was  born  abroad  and  had  spent 
most  of  his  life  outside  of  China,  and  he  showed  in  this 
telegram  how  far  he  was  from  understanding  the  real  feel¬ 
ings  of  the  Chinese  people.  The  premier  was  supported 
by  the  military  governors  of  the  northern  provinces,  who 
met  in  Peking  and  adopted  a  resolution  advocating  the 
immediate  declaration  of  war.  While  parliament  was  still 
debating  the  question,  on  May  10,  1917,  a  great  mob  sur¬ 
rounded  the  chamber  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
hustled  the  members  as  they  passed  in,  hooted  and  jeered 
and  yelled  for  war.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  mob  was  composed  of  soldiers  disguised 
in  civilian  dress  and  sent  there  by  the  premier.  After 
some  hours  the  President  obtained  a  troop  of  cavalry  which 
dispersed  the  rioters.  Parliament  refused  to  be  coerced. 


512 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


The  cabinet,  disgusted  with  the  premier’s  action,  resigned. 
On  May  19th  parliament  refused  to  declare  war  until  the 
cabinet  was  reorganized.  Premier  Tuan  was  forced  to  re¬ 
sign.  The  military  governors  of  the  northern  provinces 
met  at  Tientsin,  on  June  1st,  and  again  attempted  to  coerce 
the  government  into  a  declaration  of  war.  The  President 
tried  to  obtain  military  support  for  himself  and  for  the 
protection  of  parliament.  He  purchased  a  supply  of  arms 
which  were  allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  opposing 
party.  In  his  extremity  the  President  turned  to  a  military 
officer  of  the  old  Manchu  regime,  General  Chang  Hsiin, 
who  was  stationed  midway  between  Tientsin  and  Nanking 
with  some  40,000  troops  under  his  command.  Since  the 
downfall  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  he  had  been  supporting 
the  Republic,  but  chiefly  because  of  his  devotion  to  his 
former  chief,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai.  He  was  not  identified  with 
either  party  to  the  dispute  concerning  the  provisions  of 
the  proposed  constitution  or  that  relating  to  the  declara¬ 
tion  of  war.  Presumably  President  Li  thought  that,  being 
unprejudiced,  General  Chang  would  be  able  to  serve  as 
mediator  in  the  dispute  and  find  a  satisfactory  solution 
of  the  difficulty.  The  solution  he  found  was  far  from  being 
what  was  expected,  but  it  did  for  a  moment  bring  the 
opposing  forces  into  harmony  in  a  most  unexpected  and 
dramatic  fashion.  He  compelled  the  President  to  dissolve 
parliament,  although  the  President,  under  the  provisional 
constitution  then  in  force,  had  no  such  authority.  A 
majority  of  the  parliament  fled  to  Canton  and  set  up  a 
government  there,  claiming  to  be  the  only  lawful  govern¬ 
ment  of  China. 

General  Chang  entered  Peking  with  a  small  force  of 
troops  on  July  1st,  but  instead  of  attempting  to  compose 
the  dispute  between  the  factions  for  and  against  war,  issued 
a  forged  proclamation  in  the  name  of  the  President,  re¬ 
establishing  the  Manchu  monarchy.  In  the  middle  of  the 
night  he  dragged  the  little  boy  emperor  out  of  his  bed  and 
set  him  upon  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  The  effect  next 
morning  was  magical.  All  factions  throughout  the  coun¬ 
try  at  once  united  against  Chang  and  the  Manchus.  The 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


513 


ex-premier  himself  headed  the  forces  against  Peking.  The 
restored  empire  was  never  recognized  anywhere  outside  the 
walls  of  Peking,  and  in  six  days  it  had  surrendered  again 
to  the  Republic.  President  Li,  however,  was  so  chagrined 
by  the  result  of  his  efforts  that  he  resigned,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  Vice-President,  Feng  Kuo-chang.  Gen¬ 
eral  Tuan  Chi-Jui  was  restored  to  the  premiership,  and 
on  August  14  the  Peking  Government  declared  war 
upon  Germany  and  Austria.  There  was  no  parliament 
in  the  north  to  approve  or  disapprove,  but  the  exiled  parlia¬ 
ment  at  Canton  was  not  to  be  outdone  by  Peking,  and  also 
declared  war.  There  was,  therefore,  no  real  division  of 
sentiment  between  north  and  south  on  the  question  of 
republicanism  versus  monarchism,  nor  on  that  of  war 
against  the  Central  European  powers. 

China’s  part  in  the  war  was  not  of  great  importance, 
it  is  true,  but  it  enabled  the  allied  and  associated  powers 
to  rid  the  Far  East  of  German  intrigue  and  to  cut  off 
from  Germany  certain  supplies.  German  and  Austrian 
subjects  were  expelled  from  China  and  repatriated.  Ger¬ 
man  and  Austrian  vessels  interned  in  Chinese  ports  were 
seized  and  chartered  to  several  of  the  powers  at  war  with 
Germany.  The  United  States  obtained  two  of  them,  and 
also  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  Chinese  Government 
dockyard  at  Shanghai  to  build  four  vessels  for  the  Amer¬ 
ican  shipping  board.  The  vessels  were  built  and  delivered 
according  to  contract.  China’s  action  also  aided  in  the 
control  of  the  situation  in  Siberia  and  the  check  upon 
German  intrigue  there  with  the  Russian  Federated  Soviet 
Republic. 


CHINA  AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

China,  being  one  of  the  belligerents,  appointed  a  dele¬ 
gation  to  attend  the  Peace  Conference  at  Paris.  Great 
wisdom  was  shown  in  the  selection  of  the  delegation,  for, 
although  the  struggle  between  the  northern  and  southern 
provinces  over  the  constitutional  question  was  still  going 
on,  the  newly  elected  President,  Hsii  Shih-ch’ang  deter- 


514 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


mined  to  have  both  parties  represented  at  Paris,  and  ap¬ 
pointed  members  of  the  Canton  Government  as  well  as  of 
the  recognized  Government  at  Peking. 

One  of  the  first  subjects  that  came  before  the  Confer¬ 
ence  was  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  former  German 
colonies.  This  brought  the  Shantung  question  immediately 
to  the  front.  On  January  27,  1919,  the  Japanese  delega¬ 
tion  laid  before  the  Council  of  Ten  Japan’s  claim  to  the 
transfer  direct  to  her  of  all  the  rights  formerly  enjoyed 
by  Germany  in  the  province  of  Shantung,  as  well  as  the 
ownership  of  the  islands  in  the  Pacific  north  of  the 
equator  formerly  belonging  to  Germany.  China,  as  a  bel¬ 
ligerent  and  the  possessor  of  the  sovereignty  of  Shantung, 
objected,  stating  that  in  her  declaration  of  war  against 
Germany  she  had  abrogated  all  treaties  and  conventions 
between  Germany  and  herself,  and  had  extinguished  all 
German  rights  in  Shantung.  The  Japanese  quoted  the 
treaties  of  1915  between  the  Chinese  and  themselves. 
China  pointed  out  that  these  treaties  had  been  extorted 
from  her  by  force.  The  discussion  came  up  several  times 
in  the  Council  during  the  spring  of  1919,  but  without 
decision.  Telegrams  poured  in  from  China  protesting 
against  the  attitude  of  Japan.  Among  these  were  tele¬ 
grams  addressed  to  the  American  delegation  from  the 
provincial  assembly  of  Shantung,  from  the  provincial 
chamber  of  commerce  of  that  province,  from  the  provincial 
educational  association,  and  from  prominent  citizens  of  the 
province  headed  by  Duke  Yen,  the  lineal  descendant  of 
Confucius  and  the  representative  of  that  family.  They 
had  a  show  of  right  to  make  this  appeal  to  the  United 
States,  inasmuch  as  the  treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  China  of  1858  provides  that  “If  any  other  nation 
should  act  unjustly  or  oppressively  the  United  States  will 
exert  their  good  offices,  on  being  informed  of  the  case,  to 
bring  about  an  amicable  ari^ngement  of  the  question.” 
The  American  delegation  did  exert  itself  to  bring  about 
an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  question.  At  one  of  the 
meetings  of  the  Council  Baron  Makino,  for  the  Japanese 
delegation,  had  said  that  Japan  was  in  actual  possession 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


515 


of  the  leased  territory,  that  it  had  been  taken  from  Ger- 
many  by  conquest,  and  that  before  returning  it  to  China 
it  was  necessary  that  Japan  should  obtain  the  right  of 
free  disposal  from  Germany.  President  Wilson  in  reply 
pointed  out  that  the  Council  was  dealing  with  territories 
formerly  German  without  consulting  Germany  at  all.  The 
situation  became  more  acute  after  the  discussion  of  Italian 
claims  along  the  Dalmatian  coast.  In  that  discussion 
President  Wilson  took  the  position  that  the  private  under¬ 
standing  between  Italy  on  the  one  hand  and  Great  Britain 
and  France  on  the  other,  known  as  the  Pact  of  London, 
was  no  longer  applicable  to  the  situation,  since  other 
powers  had  subsequently  been  brought  into  the  war  with 
no  knowledge  of  that  pact,  and  since  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire,  at  whose  expense  the  pact  was  to  be  kept,  was  no 
longer  in  existence.  He  appealed  in  a  public  letter  to  the 
people  of  Italy  to  take  a  more  generous  attitude  towards 
the  people  of  the  new  state  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Adriatic.  The  Italian  delegation  in  protest  left  the  Con¬ 
ference  and  went  home,  where  their  attitude  was  indorsed 
by  the  Italian  people.  There  was  discontent,  too,  in  other 
quarters,  and  the  Japanese  intimated  that  if  the  former 
German  rights  in  Shantung  were  not  transferred  to  them 
they  would  refuse  to  sign,  the  treaty  of  peace.  The  situa¬ 
tion  was  critical.  President  Wilson,  in  regard  to  the 
treaties  extorted  from  China  in  1915  by  Japan,  took  a  posi¬ 
tion  similar  to  that  which  he  had  taken  toward  the  Pact 
of  London.  Lloyd  George  stated  that  Great  Britain  was 
bound  in  regard  to  the  Japanese  claim  in  the  same  way 
as  toward  the  Italian  claim.  President  Wilson  tried  re¬ 
peatedly,  but  in  vain,  to  persuade  the  Japanese  to  modify 
their  attitude.  He  proposed  that  all  these  rights  be  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Five  Powers  as  trustees,  to  be  subsequently 
returned  by  them  to  China.  But  to  this  also  the  Japanese 
were  unwilling  to  agree. 

On  April  22d,  it  was  agreed  to  refer  to  the  experts 
on  Far  Eastern  matters  the  question  whether  it  would  be 
better  for  China  to  have  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of 
1915  respecting  Shantung  carried  out,  or  simply  to  have 


516 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


transferred  to  Japan  the  rights  formerly  enjoyed  by  Ger¬ 
many  in  the  province  of  Shantung.  The  experts  reported 
that  either  alternative  presented  serious  disadvantages  for 
China,  but  that  of  the  two  the  least  objectionable  was  to 
have  Japan  succeed  simply  to  the  rights  formerly  enjoyed 
by  Germany. 

The  author,  who  was  a  member  of  the  committee  that 
made  this  report,  supplemented  it  with  a  letter  addressed 
to  President  Wilson,  in  which  he  stated  his  objections  to 
the  adoption  of  either  course. 

The  Council  of  Three  actually  adopted  the  alternative 
reported  by  the  committee  to  be  the  less  objectionable  of 
the  two  proposed.  The  Chinese  delegation  protested,  and 
refused  to  sign  the  Treaty  of  Versailles.  Subsequently 
they  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Austria,  and  by  virtue 
of  that  act,  which  was  ratified  by  the  Chinese  Government, 
China  became  a  member  of  the  League  of  Nations. 


CHINA  AT  THE  WASHINGTON  CONFERENCE 

The  Shantung  question,  however,  remained  unsettled. 
The  action  of  the  Chinese  delegation  in  refusing  to  sign 
the  Treaty  of  Versailles  was  universally  approved  in 
China.  The  students  and  merchants  there  inaugurated  a 
boycott  of  Japanese  trade,  as  a  concrete  expression  of  their 
hostility  to  Japan’s  course  of  action.  This  resulted  in  con¬ 
siderable  loss  to  Japanese  merchants.  The  Japanese  made 
repeated  efforts  to  negotiate  the  Shantung  Question  with 
China.  China  consistently  refused,  insisting  that  the  way 
to  restore  Kiaochow  Leased  Territory  was  to  withdraw 
Japanese  forces. 

In  1921  the  representatives  of  British  dominions  met  in 
London  in  the  early  summer,  in  a  Council  of  the  Empire. 
The  Anglo-Japanese  Treaty  of  Alliance  was  about  to  ex¬ 
pire,  and  the  question  of  its  renewal  was  brought  under 
consideration.  There  was  a  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  the 
advisability  of  renewing  it.  One  argument  against  the 
renewal  was  that  American  opinion  was  hostile  to  it.  As 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


517 


revised  at  the  close  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  in  August, 
1905,  it  provided  that: 

If  by  reason  of  unprovoked  attack  or  aggressive  action,  wher¬ 
ever  arising,  on  the  part  of  any  other  power  or  powers,  either 
Contracting  Party  should  be  involved  in  war  in  defense  of  its 
territorial  rights  or  special  interests  .  .  .  the  other  Contracting 
Party  will  at  once  come  to  the  assistance  of  its  ally,  and  will 
conduct  the  war  in  common  and  make  peace  in  mutual  agreement 
with  it. 

This  meant  that,  if  unhappily  war  should  break  out  be¬ 
tween  Japan  and  the  United  States,  Great  Britain  would 
be  bound  to  join  Japan,  unthinkable  as  that  may  be,  be¬ 
cause  when  nations  go  to  war  it  is  almost  invariably 
claimed  by  both  parties  to  the  conflict  that  the  attack  was 
“unprovoked.” 

In  1911  the  British  Government  obtained  a  revision  of 
the  treaty  of  alliance,  by  adding  a  provision  relieving 
either  Contracting  Party  of  the  obligation  to  go  to  war 
with  a  country  with  wdiich  it  had  entered  into  a  treaty 
of  general  arbitration.  Following  up  this  arrangement  a 
treaty  of  arbitration  with  the  United  States  was  negotiated, 
but  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  failed  to  ratify  it.  In 
1916  a  treaty  providing  a  method  of  investigating  any 
questions  that  might  arise  between  the  two  countries,  and 
stipulating  for  a  period  of  delay  before  appeal  to  arms, 
was  entered  into  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain; 
but  it  is  not  a  treaty  of  general  arbitration.  The  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance  therefore  remained,  in  the  eyes  of  many 
Americans,  “A  stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offense.” 

The  Council  of  the  Empire,  it  was  reported,  had  decided 
that  a  conference  of  the  three  powers;  Great  Britain,  the 
United  States,  and  Japan,  upon  Far  Eastern  matters, 
ought  to  be  held  at  London;  and  the  British  Government 
was  considering  the  matter  of  issuing  invitations  for  such 
a  conference,  when  the  American  Government,  which  had 
decided  to  propose  a  conference  of  the  five  principal  mili¬ 
tary  powers  of  the  world  on  Limitation  of  Armament, 
learned  of  the  British  proposal,  and  modified  its  own  plans 
to  include  the  subject  of  Far  Eastern  Affairs.  This  was 


518 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


the  more  necessary  since  the  questions  are  so  closely  re¬ 
lated.  Four  other  powers,  all  interested  in  Far  Eastern 
matters,  were  then  added  to  the  list  of  the  invited. 

This  Conference  met  at  Washington  on  November  12, 
1921,  and  concluded  its  labors  on  February  6,  1922.  The 
Shantung  Question  could  not  be  brought  directly  before 
this  Conference  with  any  hope  of  settling  it,  because,  of 
the  nine  powers  represented  there,  seven  were  bound  by 
the  Treaty  of  Versailles. 

But  Japan  and  China  arranged  that  their  delegates  to 
the  Washington  Conference  should  at  the  same  time  confer 
together  upon  this  subject.  The  American  and  British 
Governments  appointed  each  an  observer,  to  sit  in  these 
meetings  and  employ  their  good  offices  in  endeavors  to 
adjust  any  differences  that  might  arise.  The  negotiations 
lasted  nearly  ten  weeks,  the  results  being  reported  from 
time  to  time  at  the  plenary  sessions  of  the  Conference. 
These  negotiations  resulted  in  a  treaty  between  the  two 
powers,  signed  on  February  4,  1922,  which,  although  not 
formally  acknowledged  to  be  the  work  of  the  Conference 
was  nevertheless  one  of  its  most  noteworthy  achievements. 
The  treaty  in  brief  provided  that  within  certain  stated 
periods  after  ratification,  the  leased  territory  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  railway  on  the  other,  were  to  be  returned 
to  the  administration  of  China;  that  the  option  formerly 
held  by  Germany  on  public  works  in  the  province  of 
Shantung  was  to  be  given  up  by  Japan,  that  the  mines 
were  to  become  a  joint  Sino- Japanese  concern,  that  the 
port  of  Tsingtao  was  to  be  open  to  foreign  residence  and 
trade  and  be  governed  by  China,  alone,  and  not  by  a  for¬ 
eign  municipality,  as  is  the  case  at  Shanghai  and  other 
treaty  ports,  and  that  all  vested  interests  were  to  be  re¬ 
spected. 

With  regard  to  vested  interests,  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
the  leasing  of  the  territory  to  Germany  did  not  dispossess 
the  owners  of  private  property  except  as  expropriated  by 
the  German  Government  or  voluntarily  sold  by  the  pro¬ 
prietors.  The  city  of  Tsingtao  covered  4650  acres  while 
under  German  administration,  and  of  this  area  only  310 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy  519 

acres  were  privately  owned.  The  remainder  was  held  by 
the  German  Government  after  expropriation  and  leased 
by  that  Government  to  lot  holders.  The  Japanese,  after 
taking  possession,  expropriated  an  additional  852  acres 
lying  north  of  the  city  and  disposed  of  this  in  part  to 
their  own  people.  They  also  disposed  by  public  sale  of 
the  government  lands  in  the  city,  nearly  all  of  which  was 
taken  by  Japanese.  The  Japanese  will  therefore  retain 
their  commercial  interests  in  Tsingtao,  which  during  their 
occupation  have  become  very  large.  Among  other  vested 
interests  must  be  classed  the  manufacture  of  salt,  which 
the  Japanese  have  developed  very  extensively.  The  salt 
industry,  however,  is  a  government  monopoly  in  China, 
and  by  engaging  in  this  business  the  Japanese  were  en¬ 
croaching  upon  the  rights  of  China  and  depriving  that 
Government  of  a  portion  of  its  revenue.  In  the  settlement 
made  it  is  stipulated  that  China  shall  purchase  these  Jap¬ 
anese  interests  for  a  fair  compensation,  and  shall  permit 
an  export  of  salt  to  Japan  upon  reasonable  terms.  The 
Shantung  salt  is  more  highly  prized  in  China  than  any 
other  because  of  its  purity. 

The  cables  from  Tsingtao  which  had  been  given  to  Japan 
by  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  are  acknowledged  to  belong 
to  China,  with  the  exception  of  those  portions  which  have 
been  taken  to  connect  Tsingtao  with  Sasebo.  This  cable 
will  go  to  Japan. 

Agreement  upon  the  several  articles  of  the  Treaty  was 
reached  without  much  difficulty  except  in  the  case  of  those 
dealing  with  the  Shantung  Railway.  In  1918  China  had 
agreed  in  a  secret  treaty  with  Japan  that  the  railway 
should  become  the  property  of  a  Sino- Japanese  company, 
but  the  agreement  was  never  ratified  by  the  Chinese  parlia¬ 
ment,  The  Treaty  of  Versailles  gave  the  line  entirely  to 
Japan,  and  Japan  was  debited  with  some  fifty-four  million 
marks  (gold)  on  her  claim  against  Germany,  this  being 
its  value  at  the  time  of  its  seizure  as  estimated  by  the 
reparations  commission.  China,  however,  never  signed  the 
Versailles  Treaty,  so  that  the  disposition  of  the  line  lacked 
validity. 


520 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


The  Japanese  at  Washington  urged  that  the  arrangement 
of  1918  be  carried  out,  that  is  to  say,  that  the  line  become 
a  Sino- Japanese  concern,  but  China  refused  to  consent, 
asking  instead  that  it  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  her 
and  that  she  be  allowed  to  compensate  Japan  for  the  trans¬ 
fer.  After  much  discussion,  Japan  agreed  to  sell  out  to 
China,  the  latter  to  pay  the  amount  estimated  by  the  rep¬ 
arations  commission  as  the  value  of  the  railway  when 
seized,  plus  such  amounts  as  Japan  had  expended  for 
extensions  and  permanent  improvements.  This  was  agreed 
to,  but,  when  China  offered  to  pay  cash,  Japan  declined 
to  accept  it,  and  insisted  that  China  borrow  from  Japanese 
bankers  the  sum  needed  for  the  redemption  of  the  line  and 
allow  the  loan  to  run  for  several  decades.  The  properties 
of  the  railway  and  its  revenues  were  to  be  security  for 
the  loan,  and  during  its  continuance  a  Japanese  was  to 
be  Traffic  Manager.  A  traffic  manager  in  China  is  a  very 
important  person ;  he  wields  great  power.  He  can  control 
the  policy  of  the  railway  to  a  great  extent  and,  if  he  so 
desires,  he  can  by  manipulation  of  rates  and  by  assign¬ 
ment  of  cars  discriminate  in  favor  of  the  trade  of  his 
own  countrymen.  Such  discrimination  in  the  matter  of 
freight  shipments  is  not  unknown  in  China.  To  have  a 
loan  secured  by  the  railway,  running  for  a  long  term  of 
years  during  which  the  lenders  might  to  a  con¬ 
siderable  degree  control  the  line  in  their  own  inter¬ 
est,  did  not  seem  an  acceptable  arrangement  to  the  Chinese 
delegation. 

After  weeks  of  debate  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  was 
found.  It  was  agreed  that  China  should  give  treasury 
notes  in  payment,  secured  upon  the  railway  and  its  rev¬ 
enues,  and  running  for  fifteen  years.  China  is  to  have 
the  option  of  paying  all  or  any  part  after  five  years,  and 
pending  the  payment  of  the  loan  in  full  the  Chinese  Gov¬ 
ernment  is  to  select  and  appoint  a  Japanese  as  Traffic 
Manager  and  another  Japanese  as  Associate  Chief  Ac¬ 
countant,  both  of  whom  shall  be  under  the  control  of  a 
Chinese  Managing  Director  and  removable  by  him  for 
cause. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy  521 

Since  the  Japanese  so  readily  agreed  upon  other  matters, 
it  is  rather  unfortunate  that  they  did  not  continue  to 
manifest  a  magnanimous  spirit  by  accepting  payment  at 
once  in  cash,  and  thus  end  without  further  delay  their 
lien  upon  the  province.  As  it  is,  five  years  must  pass 
before  China  will  be  permitted  to  pay  any  part  of  the 
debt  to  Japan. 

The  stipulations  of  the  Treaty  respecting  the  Leased 
Territory,  the  mines  and  public  property,  have  been  al¬ 
ready  carried  out.  The  Leased  Territory  of  Kiaochow 
was  transferred  to  China  on  December  5,  1922. 

Other  matters  concerning  China  dealt  with  by  the  Con¬ 
ference  were  embodied  in  a  treaty  signed  by  the  represent¬ 
atives  of  the  nine  powers.74  Mention  has  already  been  made 
of  the  manner  in  which  this  Conference  dealt  with  the 
questions  of  “Spheres  of  Interest”  and  “Spheres  of  In¬ 
fluence.  ’  ’ 8 

Among  other  questions  dealt  with  by  the  Conference  is 
that  of  Tariff  Revision.  Although  in  the  First  Article 
of  the  Nine-Power  Treaty  the  powers  other  than  China 
solemnly  agreed  to  respect  the  “sovereignty,  the  independ¬ 
ence,  and  the  territorial  and  administrative  integrity  of 
China,”  they  were  unwilling  in  the  Treaty  on  Tariff  Re¬ 
vision  to  restore  to  China  her  tariff  autonomy.  The  in¬ 
consistency  was  recognized  by  Senator  Underwood,  the 
American  Commissioner,  who  reported  to  the  Conference 
the  work  of  the  sub-committee.  ‘  ‘  It  may  seem  an  anomaly 
to  the  people  of  the  world,”  he  said,  “that  this  Conference, 
after  declaring  that  they  recognize  the  sovereignty  and 
territorial  integrity  of  China,  should  engage  in  a  compact 
with  China  about  a  domestic  matter  that  is  a  part  of  her 
sovereignty.” 

Since  the  close  of  the  first  war  with  Great  Britain,  in 
1842,  China,  beaten  in  that  conflict,  has  been  compelled 
by  treaty  to  limit  her  duties  on  imports  and  exports  to 
five  per  cent  ad  valorem.  These  duties  had  been  made 
specific  by  agreements  with  the  several  powers.  Since 

7“  Not  yet  ratified  (1923)  by  some  of  tfie  signatories, 

s  gee  Chapter  XX. 


522  The  Struggle  for  Democracy 

prices  vary  continually  the  specific  duties  were  no  longer 
as  much  as  five  per  cent,  and  the  Treaty  provided  for  a 
commission  to  revise  the  schedule  and  bring  them  up  to  an 
effective  five  per  cent. 

China,  however,  pointed  out  that  the  rate,  five  per  cent 
ad  valorem,  is  too  low  and  asked  that  it  be  raised.  The 
question  was  brought  up  during  the  negotiations  of  the 
American,  British,  and  Japanese  commercial  treaties  in 
1902  and  1903,  and  in  these  treaties  it  was  stipulated 
that  the  duty  on  imports  and  exports  might  be  increased 
provided  that  China  would  abolish  likin.  Likin  is  a  duty 
on  internal  transit,  first  introduced  during  the  Taiping 
Rebellion  (1853-1866)  to  finance  the  operations  of  the 
Imperial  Government  for  the  suppression  of  that  disturb¬ 
ance.  It  has  been  retained  and  extended  as  a  profitable 
source  of  revenue  for  provincial  treasuries,  but  it  is  a 
serious  obstacle  to  trade.  The  word  likin.  means  one  per 
mille,  but  the  tax  in  these  days  amounts  on  an  average  to 
about  two  and  a  half  per  cent.  Foreign  merchants  avoid 
its  collection  by  a  payment  at  the  port  of  a  commutation 
transit  tax  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent,  but  goods  not 
provided  with  certificates  to  this  effect  are  levied  upon 
repeatedly  as  they  are  shipped  from  province  to  province, 
and,  even  when  provided  with  certificates,  the  goods  are 
held  for  examination,  causing  many  vexatious  delays. 
The  opening  of  packages  at  various  stations  is  also  apt  to 
result  in  damage  and  sometimes  in  loss.  It  has  been  the 
urgent  desire  of  merchants,  both  Chinese  and  foreign,  that 
this  hindrance  to  the  free  movement  of  goods  should  be 
removed. 

The  British  and  American  treaties  of  1902  and  1903 
respectively  agreed  that  in  lieu  of  likin  a  surtax  might 
be  levied  upon  imports  and  exports.  The  surtax  on  im¬ 
ports  was  to  be  seven  and  one-half  per  cent,  making  the 
total  tax  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent  ad  valorem.  The 
duty  upon  exports  was  to  be  raised  to  seven  and  a  half 
per  cent  by  a  surtax  of  two  and  a  half  per  cent.  The 
Japanese  treaty  specified  no  definite  rate  of  increase.  The 
arrangement  was  never  consummated,  however,  because 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


523 


certain  other  powers  were  unwilling  to  agree  to  the  sur¬ 
taxes  unless  compensated  therefor  by  the  grant  of  special 
favors. 

THE  SPECIAL  CONFERENCE 

But  a  better  spirit  seems  to  prevail  to-day,  and  the  nine 
powers  represented  at  Washington  have  agreed  that  within 
three  months  after  the  Tariff  Treaty  comes  into  force  8a  a 
Special  Conference  shall  meet  in  China  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  abolition  of  likin  and  the  fulfillment  of  the  other 
conditions  stipulated  in  the  treaties  of  1902  and  1903,  so 
that  an  increased  duty  may  be  levied  both  upon  imports 
and  exports. 

The  calling  of  a  Special  Conference  for  this  purpose 
seems  to  be  required  by  the  present  disturbed  condition 
of  China.  It  is  not  certain  that  the  Peking  Government 
can  abolish  likin  throughout  the  country  at  once,  since  its 
authority  is  disputed  in  several  provinces.  An  investiga¬ 
tion,  therefore,  must  be  made  and  a  course  of  procedure 
outlined.  The  Special  Conference  is  to  be  authorized  not 
only  to  prepare  for  the  abolition  of  likin  and  the  increase 
thereafter  of  the  rate  of  duty  to  be  levied,  but  also  to 
grant  an  immediate  surtax  upon  imports  of  two  and  one- 
half  per  cent  on  ordinary  goods  and  five  per  cent  upon 
luxuries,  which  will  enable  China  to  collect  seven  and  a 
half  per  cent  upon  the  necessaries  and  ten  per  cent  upon 
luxuries  even  before  the  likin  is  abolished.  This  of  itself 
will  give  China  a  very  considerable  increase  in  revenue. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  earmark  this  expected  increase 
for  the  repayment  of  foreign  loans  not  otherwise  secured. 
To  this  China  strenuously  objected  that,  as  a  sovereign 
state,  she  could  not  permit  others  to  dictate  how  she 
should  use  her  revenues.  Eventually,  however,  the  Chinese 
delegates  agreed  that  the  Special  Conference  might  decide 
the  purposes  for  which  and  the  conditions  under  which 
the  surtax  might  be  levied,  but  the  repayment  of  foreign 
loans  was  not  definitely  stated  to  be  one  of  the  purposes. 
The  word  i  ‘  conditions  ’  ’  was  another  euphemism  to  cover 

8a  Not  yet  ratified  (1923)  by  some  of  the  signatories. 


5U 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


a  demand  by  certain  delegates  that  the  surtax  should  be 
granted  on  condition  that  the  proceeds  be  deposited  in 
banks  of  more  than  one  nationality  and  not,  as  the  cus¬ 
toms  receipts  are  now  placed,  entirely  with  the  Hongkong 
and  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation,  a  British  institution. 

UNIFORMITY  OF  DUTIES 

An  important  change  to  be  wrought  by  the  Tariff  Treaty 
is  the  abolition  of  the  reduction  heretofore  allowed  in 
duties  on  imports  and  exports  carried  over  the  land  fron¬ 
tiers.  This  reduction  has  amounted  to  one-third  in  most 
instances,  but  has  varied  somewhat  on  different  frontiers. 
On  the  Burmese  boundary  the  duty  on  imports  into  China 
was  reduced  by  three-tenths  and  that  on  exports  from 
China  by  four-tenths. 

The  practice  was  first  sanctioned  in  the  treaty  of  1881 
between  China  and  Russia.  The  overland  trade  between 
the  two  countries  was  very  large,  and  there  being  no  Trans- 
Siberian  Railway  at  that  time,  the  trade  was  handicapped 
by  the  expense  of  transportation  by  camels  across  Mongolia 
and  by  cart  and  boat  through  Siberia.  The  reduction  was 
intended  to  lessen  in  some  degree  the  disadvantages  of  the 
land  trade  as  compared  with  the  sea-borne  commerce.  The 
precedent  was  used  by  Great  Britain,  France  and  Japan 
to  obtain  similar  reductions  over  their  frontiers  that  touch 
China.  But  the  building  of  railways  has  greatly  changed 
conditions,  and,  although  some  opposition  was  manifested, 
the  Washington  Conference  finally  agreed  that  these  re¬ 
ductions  should  be  abolished. 

On  the  whole  the  Tariff  Treaty,  although  inconsistently 
withholding  assent  to  China’s  reasonable  request  for  tariff 
autonomy,  is  distinctly  advantageous  to  that  country. 

The  Conference  agreed  also  to  a  withdrawal  of  their 
post-offices  from  China  in  January,  1923,  for  the  sale  to 
China  of  wireless  stations  there,  with  certain  exceptions, 
and  for  an  investigation  of  the  new  Chinese  codes  and 
courts  with  a  view  to  the  eventual  surrender  to  China  of 
the  extraterritorial  privileges  of  foreign  residents. 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy  525 

The  Chinese  delegation  requested  that  the  treaties  and 
notes  growing  out  of  the  Twenty-one  Demands  be  con¬ 
sidered,  pleading  that  since  they  were  signed  under  duress 
they  ought  to  be  canceled.  Baron  Shidehara’s  reply  to 
the  Chinese  request  has  already  been  quoted.9  The  de¬ 
mand,  he  said,  would  establish  a  dangerous  precedent 
affecting  the  stability  of  international  relations  every¬ 
where.  Unanimity  being  indispensable,  as  a  rule,  in  inter¬ 
national  decisions,  it  was  impossible  for  the  Conference 
to  deal  with  this  question.  But  the  Japanese  announced 
that  they  would  abandon  their  option  on  loans  for  railway 
building  and  other  purposes  in  South  Manchuria  and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  and  would  no  longer  insist  upon 
the  preference  granted  in  favor  of  the  appointment  of 
Japanese  as  advisers.  They  also  withdrew  from  further  con¬ 
sideration  the  demands  under  Group  V,  which  in  1915 
had  been  reserved  for  future  negotiation.  These  were  the 
demands  most  seriously  affecting  the  sovereignty  of  China. 
This  renunciation  of  acquired  rights  was  a  fine  action, 
and  won  well  deserved  praise  for  the  delegation. 

The  question  of  the  Twenty-one  Demands  has  since  been 
raised  in  a  more  acute  form  by  the  resolution  of  the  Chinese 
House  of  Representatives,  adopted  November  1,  1922, 
unanimously  requesting  the  Government  to  secure  an  abro¬ 
gation  of  the  treaties  growing  out  of  these  Demands.  To 
a  foreign  observer  the  time  seems  most  inopportune  to 
raise  such  a  question,  when  China  is  torn  by  internal  dis¬ 
sension,  and  is  too  weak  in  a  military  sense  to  defend  her¬ 
self  in  case  such  provocative  action  were  to  lead  to  a 
conflict  of  arms.  But  the  reason  for  introducing  the 
resolution  was,  no  doubt,  that  under  the  original  agree¬ 
ment  with  Russia  the  lease  of  the  ports  of  Dairen  and  Port 
Arthur  was  to  expire  in  1923.  The  extension  which  Japan 
has  obtained  was  secured  by  the  threat  implied  in  the 
ultimatum  of  1915. 


»  See  Chapter  I. 


526 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA 

The  internal  condition  of  China  is  a  most  unhappy  one 
and  very  discouraging  to  her  friends.  Military  Governors, 
each  with  an  army  under  his  command,  are  in  possession 
of  various  districts  upon  which  they  have  fastened  them¬ 
selves  like  leeches,  draining  the  revenues  for  their  own 
enrichment  and  the  support  of  their  troops.  Peking,  de¬ 
prived  of  the  financial  support  of  the  provinces,  is  unable 
to  meet  its  obligations,  and  is  being  pressed  by  foreign 
creditors.  It  is  able  to  function  only  as  it  yields  to  the 
demands  of  the  war  lord  nearest  to  hand. 

The  original  dispute  between  the  northern  and  southern 
parties  was  a  constitutional  one.  The  more  democratic 
south  wanted  local  autonomy  and  a  loose  federation  of 
provinces.  The  north,  more  accustomed  to  imperialism, 
wanted  a  centralized  government.  To  this  original  dispute 
was  added  that  relating  to  the  status  of  the  exiled  parlia¬ 
ment  at  Canton,  and  the  legitimacy  of  the  Government  at 
Peking  elected  by  the  new  parliament  chosen  in  1918. 
The  President  elected  by  the  last-mentioned  parliament 
was  Hsu  Shih-ch’ang,  a  typical  Chinese  gentleman  of  the 
old  school.  Amiable  and  conciliatory,  he  strove  to  recon¬ 
cile  the  opposing  parties  but  failed. 

Among  the  military  leaders  there  were  two  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  and  seemingly  possessed  of  real  patriotic 
motives.  These  were  General  Wu  Pei-fu,  with  head¬ 
quarters  in  Honan,  and  his  subordinate,  General  Feng, 
who  claims  to  be  a  Christian.  In  1921  the  former  proposed 
a  conference  of  both  sides,  which  was  to  agree  on  a  plan 
of  settlement.  He  and  his  subordinate,  General  Feng,  are 
reported  still  to  be  aiming  to  bring  a  reunion  of  the  prov¬ 
inces. 

The  two  obstructionists  are  Chang  Tso-lin  and  Sun  Yat- 
sen.  The  former  is  military  governor  of  Manchuria  and 
an  ex-brigand.  He  is  regarded  as  an  unscrupulous  person 
bent  on  his  own  advancement.  The  latter  seems  to  be  a 
misguided  liberal,  whose  life  has  been  that  of  a  rebellious 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


627 


agitator  who  has  never  shown  any  constructive  ability. 
Both  oppose  the  Peking  Government  and  the  plans  of  Wu 
Pei-fu  for  union.  Although  Chang  is  in  the  north  he  is 
not  to  be  considered  as  a  champion  of  the  north  against 
the  south  on  the  question  which  originally  divided  the  prov¬ 
inces.  His  contest  is  simply  one  for  personal  aggrandize¬ 
ment.  At  times  he  and  Sun  Yat-sen  have  joined  hands 
and  worked  together,  much  as  an  ass  and  a  bull  calf  are 
sometimes  seen  yoked  together  to  pull  a  Chinese  plow,  for 
they  apparently  have  nothing  in  common  save  hostility 
to  General  Wu.  The  latter  was  forced  into  conflict  last 
year  by  Chang.  He  gave  the  Manchurian  war  lord  a 
well-deserved  beating.  Dr.  Sun,  in  1922,  lost  the  support 
of  his  principal  military  officer,  Ch’en  Ch’iung-min,  who 
was  won  to  the  support  of  General  Wu’s  conciliatory  pro¬ 
gramme.  The  Canton  Government  disappeared.  For  a 
brief  period  the  skies  brightened,  and  friends  of  China 
looked  for  a  peaceful  settlement  of  the  controversy.  But 
subsequently  Dr.  Sun  was  in  Fukien  Province  aiding  a  for¬ 
mer  foe  and  disreputable  politician,  General  Hsu,  better 
known  as  ‘ 1  Little  Hsu,  ’  ’  to  stir  up  another  rebellion.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  a  statement  made  by  General  Wu  Pei-fu  it  will  take 
another  two  years  to  affect  a  settlement.  But  in  the  mean¬ 
time  what  will  be  the  attitude  of  the  foreign  powers  whose 
interests  are  adversely  affected?  The  presence  of  con¬ 
tending  armies  in  various  provinces  encourages  disorder. 
Brigandage  is  common  in  certain  regions.  Recently  some 
of  the  disgruntled  leaders  have  taken  to  kidnaping  for¬ 
eign  residents,  with  a  view  to  forcing  from  the  Peking 
Government  a  recognition  of  their  claims. 

All  this  certainly  is  distressing.  Yet  it  is  necessary  to 
remember  that  this  sort  of  thing  has  happened  in  the 
past  at  the  overthrow  of  every  dynasty  that  has  lost  its 
throne  in  China.  The  Chinese  people  are  still  there.  They 
are  the  real  strength  of  the  country.  They  are  industrious 
and  aim  to  be  law-abiding.  The  wealth  of  the  country  is 
not  destroyed,  however  great  the  debts  of  the  government 
may  become.  These  patient,  law-abiding  citizens  for  the 
most  part  go  about  their  business  as  usual.  While  there 


528 


The  Struggle  for  Democracy 


are  disturbances  here  and  there  in  the  vast  territory  of 
China,  yet  in  most  places  life  is  still  peaceful.  The  trav¬ 
eler  generally  pursues  his  journey  unmolested,  and  American 
missionaries,  even  women,  unarmed  and  unescorted,  go  from 
village  to  village  and  carry  on  their  work  without  inter¬ 
ruption.  It  is  this  that  makes  one  hopeful.  Eventually 
the  common  sense  of  the  common  people  will  bring  to  an 
end  the  foolish  factional  strife  that  is  going  on,  and  national 
welfare  will  supplant  personal  ambitions. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


FOREIGN  TRADE 

Speed  on  the  ship,  but  let  her  bear 
No  merchandise  of  sin, 

No  groaning  cargo  of  despair, 

Her  roomy  hold  within; 

No  Lethean  drug  for  eastern  lands, 

No  poison  draught  for  ours, 

But  honest  fruits  of  toiling  hands 
And  Nature’s  sun  and  showers. 

Whittier. 

Reference  has  been  made  elsewhere  to  the  early  trade 
of  China  with  the  West.  China’s  exports  to  Rome  via 
Parthia  were  chiefly  silk,  iron,  furs,  skins  and  hides.  The 
imports  from  Rome  were  bright-colored  textiles,  precious 
stones  and  jewelry,  drugs  and  glass.  Some  of  the  last- 
mentioned  appears  to  have  been  in  the  form  of  imitation 
jewels,  in  the  manufacture  of  which  the  Syrians  seem  to 
have  been  very  skillful.1  Glass  making  was  not  introduced 
into  China  until  the  5th  century  A.D.2  and  prior  to  that 
date  vessels  of  glass  were  considered  very  precious.  Even 
at  a  later  period  the  celebrated  poet,  Li  Po  (A.D.  702),  as 
quoted  by  Hirtli,  represents  the  fairy  princess,  T’ai  Chen, 
as  drinking  from  a  glass  cup,  implying  that  glass  was  a 
very  precious  article.8 

But  long  before  China’s  trade  with  Rome,  in  the  12th 
century  B.C.,  she  was  trading  in  such  articles  as  silk,  furs, 
linen,4  skins,  silver,  copper  and  iron,  precious  stones,  pearls, 
ivory  and  gold.5 

Iron  manufacturing  became  a  government  monopoly  in 

iHirth:  11  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,”  p.  237. 

2  Ibid.,  and  p.  232. 

3  Op.  cit.,  p.  233. 

4  Dolichos  and  boehmeria. 

5  <<  Tribute  of  Yu. ” 


529 


530 


Foreign  Trade 


the  7th  century  B.C.  and  remained  for  a  long  time  under 
official  control.6  Hirth  quotes  Ma  Tuan-lin  as  authority 
for  the  statement  that  in  110  B.C.  there  were  forty  districts 
in  which  government  inspectors  supervised  the  manufac¬ 
ture  of  iron.  Pliny  complained  that  in  his  day  the  Romans 
wasted  money  on  silk  and  other  Asiatic  luxuries,  with  the 
result  that  the  balance  of  trade  against  Rome  in  her  com¬ 
merce  with  the  Orient  amounted  to  between  55  and  100 
million  sesterces  a  year.7  This  would  amount  to  from  two 
to  five  millions  of  dollars,  at  a  time  when  the  purchasing 
power  of  money  was  much  greater  than  now. 


MEDIAEVAL  TRADE 

In  the  9th  and  10th  centuries  of  the  Christian  Era  the 
foreign  trade  of  China  was  chiefly  sea-borne,  and  the  im¬ 
ports  consisted  of  ivory,  frankincense,  tortoise  shell,  cam¬ 
phor,  rhinoceros  horns,  copper,  coral,  amber,  pearls, 
precious  stones,  ebony,  spices,  drugs,  sapan-wood  and 
colored  cotton  fabrics.  The  exports  were  porcelain,  cotton 
piece  goods,  silk,  gold  and  silver.8  Tea  is  mentioned  as  a 
common  drink  in  China  by  the  Arab  travelers  who  visited 
that  country  in  the  9th  century,  but  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  figured  in  the  exports  at  that  period.9  The  duties 
paid  on  imports  varied  from  10  per  cent  on  pearls  and 
camphor  to  30  and  40  per  cent  on  other  articles.  The 
duties  were  paid  in  kind,  and  such  stores  as  were  not 
wanted  by  the  Court  were  placed  on  the  market.10  Marco 
Polo  in  his  day  said  that  the  import  duty  was  10  per  cent 
as  a  rule,  but  that  freight  charges  were  from  30  to  44  per 
cent,  so  that  the  merchant  had  to  “pay  a  good  half  of  the 
value  of  his  investment”  for  freight  and  duty.11 

6  Hirth ’s  "  Ancient  History  of  China,”  p.  204. 

7  Hirth:  “ China  and  the  Roman  Orient,”  p.  226. 

8  See  Hirth  and  Rockhill:  “Chau  Ju-Kua, ”  p.  16-19,  and 
Renaudot ’s  translation  of  ‘ 1  Ancient  Accounts  of  India  and  China 
by  Two  Mohammedan  Travellers,”  p.  20. 

9  Renaudot,  op.  cit.,  p.  25. 

10  Chau  Ju-Kua,  pp.  19-21. 

nCordier’s  Yule’s  Marco  Polo,  II,  p.  235. 


Foreign  Trade  531 

The  first  British  ship  to  reach  China  sought  a  cargo  of 
sugar  and  ginger,  as  said  in  another  chapter.  Sugar  was 
probably  already  an  article  of  export  in  days  of  the  Arab 
monopoly  of  trade.  It  is  mentioned  by  the  two  Arab 
travelers,  whose  accounts  Renaudot  has  translated,  as  an 
article  of  manufacture  at  that  period,  i.e.,  the  9th  cen¬ 
tury  A.D. 


MODERN  TRADE 

From  Shaw’s  journals  we  learn  that  the  Europeans  in 
his  day  had  difficulty  in  selling  goods  to  the  Chinese  to 
balance  purchases,  and  had  to  make  up  the  deficit  by  pay¬ 
ments  of  silver  in  large  quantity.12  Some  of  the  “country 
vessels”  of  the  British,  that  is  to  say  vessels  owned  by 
British  subjects  in  India  and  sailing  from  that  country, 
carried  Indian  products  to  the  Dutch  settlements  in  the 
East  Indies,  and  loaded  there  with  spices  and  block  tin 
for  China.  These,  with  opium  and  cotton  from  India,  to 
a  certain  extent  replaced  the  shipments  of  silver. 

Shaw,  in  his  report  to  the  Hon.  John  Jay,  Secretary  of 
the  United  States  for  Foreign  Affairs,  dated  January,  1787, 
says  :13 

The  English  ships  bring  out  from  Europe  lead  and  large 
quantities  of  cloth;  which  latter  the  company  are  obliged  by 
their  charter  to  export  annually  to  China,  for  the  encourage¬ 
ment  of  the  home  woolen  manufacture.  The  remainder  of  their 
cargoes  is  made  up  of  supplies  for  the  company’s  establishments 
in  India,  and  such  European  commodities  as  will  suit  the  various 
markets  upon  the  coast.  After  having  disposed  of  these,  they 
take  on  board  cotton,  with  which,  and  their  lead,  and  cloth, 
they  proceed  to  China.  The  English  derive  considerable  advan¬ 
tage  from  the  permission  granted  to  private  ships,  owned  by 
their  subjects  in  India,  to  trade  with  China.  These  vessels, 
besides  the  cotton,  sandal-wood,  putchoek-root,  ebony,  opium, 
shark-fins  and  birds’-nests  they  bring  from  the  coast,  carry  on 
a  smuggling  trade  with  the  Dutch  settlements  in  and  about 
Malacca,  and  with  the  natives,  whom  they  supply  with  opium, 

12  Shaw’s  Journals,  pp.  229  and  230.  See  Morse,  “International 
Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,’’  I,  p.  79. 
is  Shaw’s  Journals,  pp.  342  and  343. 


532 


Foreign  Trade 


clothing,  fire-arms,  etc.,  in  return  for  which  they  receive  pepper, 
block-tin  and  spices.  The  net  proceeds  of  these,  with  the  silver 
and  other  articles  they  bring  from  India,  are,  to  the  amount  of 
about  one  third,  carried  back  in  such  merchandise  as  will  suit 
the  India  markets;  and  the  remainder,  either  in  cash  or  trans¬ 
fers  on  the  Chinese  merchants,  is  paid  into  the  company’s 
treasury,  for  which  they  receive  bills  on  the  company  in  Eng¬ 
land,  at  the  exchange  of  five  shillings  and  sixpence  sterling  for 
a  dollar,  payable  twelve  months  after  sight.  This  fund  has  for 
a  number  of  years  rendered  it  unnecessary  for  the  company  to 
export  from  Europe  any  specie  for  carrying  on  their  commerce 
with  the  Chinese. 

With  respect,  however,  to  this  advantage  derived  by  the  Eng¬ 
lish  from  their  subjects  in  India,  as  well  as  from  their  credit 
with  the  Chinese,  it  must  be  observed  that  both  have  beeu 
pushed  as  far  as  they  would  bear.  Last  year  their  ships  de¬ 
pended  greatly  on  the  latter  of  these  resources  for  their  home¬ 
ward  cargoes,  and  the  company  have  sent  from  England  the 
present  year  upwards  of  three  millions  of  dollars  in  specie  alone. 

It  was  this  difficulty  in  maintaining  a  favorable  trade 
balance  that  encouraged  opium  smuggling  from  India. 
V essels  of  all  nations  engaged  in  it  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  in  the  end  it  resulted  in  a  draining  of  silver  away  from 
China  instead  of  the  former  import  of  treasure  into  that 
country.  Morse  in  his  “International  Relations  of  the 
Chinese  Empire”14  states  that  “The  English  trade  was 
fed  to  an  increasing  extent  by  opium,  the  proportion  rising 
from  one-sixth  in  1818  to  over  one-half  in  1833.”  Raw 
cotton  from  India  formed  one-fourth  and  English  woolens 
one-eighth  of  British  imports  into  China  in  1833.  Of  the 
exports  from  China  to  Great  Britain  at  that  time  47  per 
cent  was  in  tea,  about  16  per  cent  in  silk,  and  21  per  cent 
in  hard  cash. 

Opium  smugglers  were  at  a  great  advantage,  since  they 
paid  no  duty  on  the  import,  and  in  addition  received  pay¬ 
ment  for  the  contraband  drug  in  silver.  With  this  they 
could  buy  such  return  cargoes  as  they  liked.  After  1858, 
however,  opium  was  placed  on  the  tariff  list.  The  trade 
was  legalized.  Smuggling  practically  ceased.  But  produc¬ 
tion  was  undertaken  in  China  on  a  large  scale,  and  steadily 

14  Op.  cit.,  pp.  82  and  83. 


Foreign  Trade 


533 


increased  until  the  reform  measures  of  1906.  Now  again 
opium  is  contraband.  Smuggling  is  resumed.  Foreign 
production  of  the  drug  is  increased,  and  foreign  powers, 
although  signatories  of  the  Anti-Opium  Convention  of  1912 
and  the  Versailles  Treaty  of  1919,  profit  by  the  illicit  trade. 
They  shrug  their  shoulders  and  disclaim  responsibility. 
Like  Pilate  of  old  they  wash  their  hands  in  token  of  cleanli¬ 
ness,  but  the  stains  of  opium  are  not  easily  removed. 

Despite  Major  Shaw’s  optimistic  outlook  for  a  trade  in 
ginseng  with  which  to  finance  American  purchases  of  silk, 
tea  and  nankeens,15  American  merchants  found  it  necessary 
to  carry  specie  to  Canton  to  pay  for  three-fourths  of  their 
return  cargoes.  From  1830  onwards  they  substituted  bills 
on  London  for  specie.16  Ginseng  is  still  imported  into 
China  to  the  value  of  nearly  three  million  taels  a  year,  but 
more  than  half  of  this  amount  comes  from  Japan  (includ¬ 
ing  Korea).  The  amount  credited  to  the  United  States  in 
1921  is  insignificant,  although  much  of  the  859,194  taels 
worth,  reported  as  coming  from  Hongkong,  no  doubt 
originated  in  our  country. 

During  the  sixteen  years  1818-1833,  thirty-seven  Ameri¬ 
can  vessels  a  year,  on  an  average,  visited  Canton.  They 
carried  imports  estimated  at  an  average  value  per  annum 
of  $6,100,185,  of  which  $307,875  worth  was  in  opium  and 
$2,161,724  in  other  goods.  The  balance,  $3,630,586  was  in 
treasure.  The  average  value  of  the  exports  each  year  from 
China  to  the  United  States  during  that  period  was  $6,453,- 
492.17  In  other  words  during  that  period  we  sold  to  China 
on  an  average  two  and  a  half  million  dollars  worth  of  goods 
every  year,  and  bought  from  China  nearly  six  and  a  half 
millions  worth. 


china’s  foreign  trade  to-day 

The  foreign  commerce  of  China  has  changed  considerably 
during  the  past  century.  Tea  and  silk  are  still  exported 

is  See  Chap.  XVI. 
ic  Morse,  op.  cit.,  I,  p.  202. 

17  Morse,  op.  cit.,  p.  80. 


534 


Foreign  Trade 


in  large  quantities,  but  India  and  Japan  have  forged  to 
the  front  in  the  tea  trade,  and  there  are  several  rivals 
competing  in  the  production  of  silk.  The  Chinese  have 
lost  much  of  the  silk  trade  by  their  lack  of  care  in  breeding 
and  feeding  silk-worms  and  in  their  reeling  of  the  silk. 
Some  improvement  is  now  being  undertaken  in  both  these 
matters.  The  decline  of  the  tea  trade  is  also  due  to  want 
of  care  in  the  growing  and  manufacture  of  that  article. 
The  dependence  of  these  two  trades  upon  a  multitude  of 
small  farmers  who  produce  silk  and  tea  of  varying  qualities 
has  made  it  difficult  to  accomplish  any  general  improve¬ 
ment,  but  the  attention  of  the  government  has  been  drawn 
to  the  matter  by  the  merchants  interested  with  the  result 
that  some  effort  is  being  made  to  educate  the  people  in  the 
proper  care  of  silk-worms  and  the  better  production  of 
silk  and  tea. 

Cotton  is  still  grown  in  China  and  nankeens  are  still 
manufactured,  but  the  power  looms  of  the  West  have 
reversed  the  current  of  trade,  so  that  to-day  cotton  piece 
goods  are  imported  into  China  in  enormous  quantities. 
China,  however,  is  improving  the  quality  of  her  cotton,  and 
the  power  loom  is  being  gradually  introduced.  Some  of 
the  factories  erected  are  financed  with  European  and 
American  capital.  These  mills  are  supplying  in  part  the 
demand  of  China  for  cotton  yarn,  and  in  a  small  measure 
the  coarser  varieties  of  cotton  cloth  needed.  As  greater 
experience  comes  in  the  promotion  of  corporate  enterprise 
the  Chinese  themselves  will  be  able  to  supply  a  larger  and 
larger  proportion  of  the  cotton  goods  needed.  For  the 
present,  however,  they  still  find  it  profitable  to  establish 
small  factories  with  cheap  hand  looms. 

Other  changes  in  the  import  and  export  trade  of  China 
are  directly  traceable  to  the  advancement  of  the  Western 
world  in  the  physical  sciences,  particularly  in  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  steam  and  electricity  in  the  invention  of  labor- 
saving  machinery  and  the  development  of  the  chemical 
industries.  The  total  number  of  items  in  the  import  list 
of  the  Chinese  Maritime  Customs  to-day  is  352,  and  in  the 
export  list  303,  Many  of  these  items  are  articles  which 


Foreign  Trade 


53  5 


a  hundred  years  ago  were  either  unknown  or  but  just 
coming  into  being.  Others,  though  known,  were  unknown 
to  the  China  trade,  for  in  those  days  China  was  self- 
centered,  sufficient  unto  herself  and  able  to  supply  all  her 
own  needs,  and  Western  men  were  either  ignorant  of 
China  5s  resources  or  unable  to  develop  a  trade  in  them. 


IMPORTS 

The  gross  value  of  China’s  import  trade  in  1921  was 
$708,966,258  or  net  $688,653,053.  Among  the  imports  to¬ 
day  that  were  unknown  a  century  ago  may  be  mentioned, 
aluminum,  condensed  milk,  steam  engines  and  all  forms  of 
steam  driven  and  electrical  machinery,  chemical  dyes,  gas 
engines,  rubber  goods,  all  railway  apparatus,  most  of  the 
present  day  scientific  apparatus,  petroleum  and  its  prod¬ 
ucts,  matches  and  motor  cars.  Over  a  million  dollars  worth 
of  condensed  milk  was  imported  in  1921.  Three  million 
dollars  worth  of  matches  and  match-making  materials  were 
imported  the  same  year.  The  value  of  all  machinery  and 
machine  tools  imported  that  year  was  Tls.  57,804,902,  or 
at  the  rate  of  exchange  for  1921,  $43,931,725  gold.  Of  this 
over  twenty  million  dollars  worth  was  in  textile  machinery. 
The  import  of  railway  materials  in  1921  amounted  to 
nearly  twenty-seven  millions  of  dollars,  including  five  and 
a  half  millions  in  rails.  Of  aniline  dyes  the  value  imported 
was  six  and  a  half  millions,  of  artificial  indigo  nearly 
twelve  millions,  of  electrical  materials  more  than  ten  mil¬ 
lions,  and  in  addition  a  million  and  a  third  of  telephone 
and  telegraph  materials.  There  was  nearly  a  million  and 
a  half  of  photographic  material,  and  more  than  that  value 
in  rubber  goods.  The  value  of  scientific  apparatus,  in¬ 
cluding  surgical  and  optical  instruments,  was  $840,000, 
that  of  kerosene  oil  forty-four  and  a  half  millions,  of  gaso¬ 
line,  naphtha,  etc.,  two  millions,  and  that  of  motor  cars 
nearly  three  millions.  But  of  all  the  items  in  the  import 
list  that  of  greatest  value  is  cotton  goods  of  various  sorts. 
The  total  value  in  1921  of  such  imports  was  about  a 


536 


Foreign  Trade 


hundred  and  seventy  million  dollars,  not  including  raw 
cotton  worth  $27,380,457.18 

In  most  of  the  items  mentioned  American  trade  is  in¬ 
terested.  The  total  value  of  our  imports  into  China  in 
1921  was  given  by  the  Chinese  Customs  as  Tls.  175,789,652, 
or  $133,600,135. 

Among  the  important  items  of  the  Chinese  import  trade 
that  have  not  been  mentioned  are  woolen  goods,  valued  in 
1921  at  $5,815,000  (including  a  million  in  woolen  yarn), 
and  metals  and  minerals  in  various  forms,  chiefly  copper, 
iron  and  steel,  worth  upwards  of  forty-one  millions,  not 
including  rails.  Of  this  total  ten  millions  must  be  credited 
to  copper.  Food-stuffs,  not  including  condensed  milk  al¬ 
ready  mentioned,  were  imported  in  1921  to  the  amount 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fourteen  millions,  of  which 
thirty-one  millions  were  for  rice  and  fifty-two  millions 
for  sugar.  Flour,  chiefly  from  the  United  States,  was 
valued  at  $2,698,000.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that 
imports  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war  were  valued  at  no 
more  than  $426,573,  while  foreign  books  and  music 
amounted  to  $672,216.  The  import  of  candles  amounted 
to  $767,224.  Carpets  valued  at  $575,398  were  brought 
from  abroad,  although  China  is  celebrated  for  her  rugs, 
and,  notwithstanding  that  cement  is  manufactured  in  large 
quantities,  it  was  imported  to  the  value  of  nearly  three 
million  dollars.  Nearly  twenty  millions  were  spent  for 
cigars  and  cigarettes  and  eleven  millions  more  for  tobacco. 
Over  five  millions  were  spent  in  wines,  beer  and  spirits, 
and  a  million  and  a  half  on  perfumery  and  cosmetics. 


EXPORTS 

China’s  total  export  trade  in  1921  was  valued  at  Taels 
601,255,537,  or  U.  S.  $456,954,208.  The  leading  item,  as 
of  old,  was  silk,  value  $111,352,920,  of  which  three-fourths 

18  All  the  figures  are  reduced  from  those  given  in  the  report  of 
the  Chinese  Maritime  Customs,  the  Customs  Tael  being  taken  as 
equivalent  to  76  cents  U.  S. 


Foreign  Trade 


537 


was  raw  silk.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  total  was  shipped  to 
Hongkong,  hut  Hongkong  is  chiefly  a  port  of  trans-ship¬ 
ment.  Our  share  of  the  Hongkong  trade,  added  to  the 
direct  shipments  from  China  to  the  United  States,  which 
were  valued  at  about  twenty-five  millions,  probably  gives 
use  the  leading  place  in  the  list  of  purchasers.  The  item 
occupying  second  place  in  the  export  trade  is  bean-cake, 
worth  thirty -seven  millions,  nearly  all  of  which  was  taken 
by  Japan.  Beans  follow  with  a  value  of  twenty-six  mil¬ 
lions,  Japan  being  again  the  largest  purchaser.  Cotton 
goods  are  tending  to  recover  their  ancient  importance  as 
exports.  Their  total  value  in  1921  was  about  eighteen 
millions,  of  which  twelve  and  a  half  were  in  raw  cotton, 
taken  chiefly  by  Japan.  Of  cotton  cloth,  nankeens  are  still 
the  largest  item,  shipments  being  mostly  to  the  East  Indian 
ports.  Exports  of  machine-made  cloth  are  increasing  from 
year  to  year  as  new  mills  are  put  into  operation.  The 
same  is  true  of  other  factory  products,  such  as  matches, 
soap,  electric  lamps  and  beer.  The  total  export  of  factory 
made  goods  in  1921  was  valued  at  two  million  seven  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  dollars.  Next  to  cotton  goods,  vegetable  oils 
show  the  largest  value,  over  fifteen  millions.  If  we  add  the 
value  of  essential  oils — cassia  and  anise-seed,  $600,000 — 
the  total  is  sixteen  millions.  Then  follow  skins  and  hides, 
ten  millions.  Add  furs  and  the  total  is  thirteen  millions, 
of  which  some  five  millions  worth  was  taken  by  the  United 
States. 

Cigarettes,  shipped  chiefly  to  the  East  Indies,  amounted 
to  more  than  ten  millions  in  value,  and  tobacco  about 
four  millions.  Wool  shipped  had  a  value  of  ten  millions. 
Most  of  this  was  sent  to  the  United  States.  Coal  worth 
nine  millions,  and  coke,  a  half  million,  went  mostly  to 
Japan.  Tea  was  valued  at  nine  and  a  half  millions,  of 
which  the  United  States  took  nearly  three  and  a  half  mil¬ 
lions  worth.  Egg  albumen  and  eggs  reached  about  nine 
millions  each.  Wheat  flour,  shipped  chiefly  to  Japan  and 
Russia,  amounted  in  value  to  some  seven  millions.  Peanuts, 
sent  chiefly  to  Japan,  were  worth  five  millions.  Tin  shipped 
through  Hongkong  accounted  for  four  and  a  half  millions. 


5  3S 


Foreign  Trade 


Pig  iron,  most  of  which  was  taken  by  Japan,  was  set  down 
at  about  four  millions.  Another  million  and  a  half,  sent 
largely  to  the  same  destination,  was  in  iron  ware.  Over 
three  millions  were  in  bristles,  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  each  taking  about  the  same  quantity,  valued  at 
about  a  million  and  a  third  dollars.  Chinaware  to  the 
value  of  three  and  a  half  millions  was  exported,  chiefly  to 
the  East  Indies.  Khubarb  and  certain  other  medicines 
account  for  over  three  millions.  Liquorice,  not  included 
in  medicines,  was  worth  one  and  three  quarter  millions. 
Camphor,  less  important  than  of  yore,  made  up  a  million 
more,  a  large  share  of  these  drugs  being  taken  by  the 
United  States.  Straw  braid  valued  at  over  two  and  a  half 
millions  was  taken  chiefly  by  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain  and  France.  Other  items  of  importance  in  the 
export  trade  are  intestines,  human  hair,  musk,  incense, 
lard,  nutgalls,  Pekinese  rugs,  sugar,  antimony,  insect  wax 
and  ginger. 


AMERICAN  SHIPPING 

As  long  as  commerce  depended  upon  sailing  vessels  built 
of  wood,  Americans  could  compete  very  well  with  the  rest 
of  the  world  in  ship  building.  The  forests  of  Maine  and 
the  shipyards  of  New  England  supplied  all  the  tonnage 
we  needed  for  our  carrying  trade,  and  the  beautiful  ‘ 1  clip¬ 
per”  was  celebrated  throughout  the  world.  But  during 
our  Civil  War  iron  steamships  became  common,  the  beautiful 
wooden  sailing  vessel  had  to  yield  place  to  the  ugly  but 
more  useful  steamer,  and  the  United  States  with  its  high- 
priced  labor  could  not  build  iron  or  steel  vessels  as  cheaply 
as  the  shipyards  of  Britain.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that, 
while  our  commerce  with  the  Far  East  has  greatly  in¬ 
creased  during  the  past  century,  our  interest  in  the  ship¬ 
ping  has  greatly  declined.  In  1833  sixty-one  American 
vessels  with  a  tonnage  of  26,621  visited  Canton.  This  was 
above  the  average,  however,  for  that  period.  But  by  1852 
no  less  than  47  per  cent  of  all  the  foreign  shipping  clearing 
from  Shanghai  was  American.  The  British  regained  the 


Foreign  Trade  539 

lead  in  1858  and  the  American  portion  fell  to  twenty-five 
per  cent.19 

More  recent  legislation  designed  to  protect  American 
seamen  by  forbidding  the  employment  on  American  vessels 
of  men  who  cannot  understand  orders  given  in  English 
failed  of  its  purpose.  Many  American  vessels  were  trans¬ 
ferred  to  other  flags.  Our  shipping  engaged  in  the  China 
trade  in  1914  had  already  dwindled  in  the  number  of 
vessels  engaged  to  less  than  one  and  a  half  per  cent  of  the 
total  number,  and  in  tonnage  to  a  trifle  more  than  one  per 
cent.  In  1916,  in  spite  of  the  opportunities  given  by  the 
European  war,  it  declined  still  further  to  nine-tenths  of 
one  per  cent  of  the  total  tonnage.  Our  flag  had  almost 
entirely  disappeared  from  the  Pacific. 

As  the  danger  of  our  becoming  involved  in  the  war  in¬ 
creased,  emergency  legislation  provided  a  great  increase 
in  our  merchant  marine,  and  our  proportion  of  the  carry¬ 
ing  trade  in  the  commerce  with  China  increased  from 
799,913  tons  in  1916  to  1,214,921  in  1918,  and  our  per¬ 
centage  of  the  total  rose  again  to  a  little  more  than  one 
and  a  half  per  cent.20  The  report  of  the  Chinese  Maritime 
Customs  for  1921  gives  the  entries  of  American  vessels  at 
Chinese  ports  as  5576,  with  a  tonnage  of  4,510,901,  and 
the  percentage  of  our  tonnage  to  the  whole  foreign  tonnage 
as  3.94,  practically  four  per  cent. 

As  normal  conditions  return  in  the  Far  East  it  seems 
likely  that  our  shipping  interests  will  again  decline.  Unless 
some  form  of  subsidy  is  granted,  it  appears  unlikely  that 
we  can  maintain  an  American  wage  standard  and  compete 
with  those  who  employ  cheap  Oriental  labor  and,  in  addi¬ 
tion,  receive  subsidies  in  aid  of  navigation.  Yet  the  disad¬ 
vantages  of  having  to  depend  upon  others  for  shipping  in 
time  of  war  were  clearly  shown  in  1917,  and  it  seems  in¬ 
credible  that  the  American  people  will  consent  to  return 
to  that  condition. 

American  merchants  in  Shanghai  complained  during  the 

19  Morse,  ‘  *  International  Relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  ”  Vol. 
I,  pp.  89  and  343. 

20  Arnold,  Commercial  Handbook  of  China,  Vol.  I,  p.  75. 


540 


Foreign  Trade 


war  that  Japanese  vessels  refused  them  cargo  space,  even 
when  such  space  was  available.  Presumably  this  was  in¬ 
tended  to  further  the  interests  of  competing  Japanese  mer¬ 
chants.  Other  complaints  were  made  of  the  detention  of 
goods  in  Japan  which  were  of  a  sort  to  compete  with 
Japanese  cargoes.  Such  statements  are  difficult  to  prove 
or  disprove,  but  it  is  quite  natural  that  Japanese  should 
consider  Japanese  interests  as  of  prime  importance.  That 
the  Japanese  Government  is  alive  to  the  importance  of  a 
good  merchant  marine  is  shown  by  the  subsidies  granted 
to  Japanese  shipping  companies.  The  Japan  Year-Book 
for  1921-22  states  that  the  subsidy  allowed  at  present  is 
granted  on  five  routes :  those  to  Europe,  to  North  America, 
to  South  America,  to  Australia  and  to  Java.  The  last, 
however,  is  exceptional.  Generally  speaking,  a  vessel  to 
be  eligible  for  a  subsidy  must  be  under  fifteen  years  of 
age,  must  be  home-built  and  above  3000  tons  gross.  Such 
vessels,  moreover,  must  have  a  speed  of  twelve  knots  or 
more  an  hour.  For  every  one  thousand  miles  traveled  a 
qualified  vessel  receives  fifty  sen.  (25  cents)  per  ton  gross, 
with  an  addition  of  ten  per  cent  for  every  knot  per  hour 
above  twelve.  The  subsidy  is  decreased  for  vessels  five 
years  old  by  five  per  cent  for  every  year  above  five,  until 
the  fifteen-year  period  is  reached,  when  payment  ceases. 
Foreign-built  vessels  owned  by  Japanese  may  receive  one- 
half  the  usual  subsidy  if  application  for  such  aid  is  ap¬ 
proved  by  the  government.  Vessels  built  to  special  plans 
of  the  government  receive  twenty-five  per  cent  extra.  With 
two  of  the  lines  mentioned  American  vessels  are  brought 
into  direct  competition,  those  running  to  Puget  Sound  and 
those  entering  San  Francisco.  On  these  two  lines  the 
Japanese  maintain  regularly  nine  steamers,  six  to  Puget 
Sound  and  three  to  San  Francisco.  The  former  vary  in 
tonnage  from  5500  to  12,000,  the  latter  from  12,500  to 
13,500  tons.  In  1921  Japan  paid  to  lines  serving  North 
American  Y2, 101, 898,  or  $1,050,449.  The  allowance  for 
1922  was  to  be  increased  to  Y2, 121, 308,  or  $1,060,654. 


Foreign  Trade 


541 


THE  OPEN  CITIES 

Although  most  of  the  important  nations  of  the  world 
are  engaged  in  commerce  with  China,  their  citizens  and 
subjects  are  permitted  by  treaty  to  reside  and  do  business 
only  in  a  limited  number  of  Chinese  cities,  known  com¬ 
monly  as  “open  ports/’  or  “treaty  ports.”  There  is  an 
exception  to  this  rule;  missionaries  are  allowed  to  live, 
travel  and  propagate  their  religion  in  all  parts  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  Not  all  open  cities  of  China  are  treaty  ports.  Some 
were  opened  by  the  Chinese  Government  upon  its  own 
initiative.  Most,  however,  have  been  forced  open  by  the 
pressure  of  foreign  powers,  generally  after  a  war  in  which 
China  has  been  defeated.  This  reluctance  upon  China’s 
part  to  the  opening  of  the  country  to  the  residence  of 
foreigners  is  not  without  justification. 

In  the  early  period  of  foreign  intercourse  the  Chinese 
segregated  the  alien  merchants  in  a  quarter  of  Canton 
where  they  could  be  more  easily  controlled,  and  where  they 
could  follow  their  outlandish  customs  without  offense  to 
the  sensibilities  of  Chinese  aristocrats,  who  regarded  them¬ 
selves  as  far  superior  to  the  barbarians  of  the  West.  A 
similar  arrangement  is  seen  to-day  in  the  zoning  ordinances 
of  some  of  our  American  cities. 

After  the  first  war  with  Great  Britain  and  the  establish¬ 
ment  by  foreign  powers  of  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  over 
their  nationals  in  China,  the  restriction  of  foreigners  to 
residence  and  trade  in  a  few  ports  became  of  great  im¬ 
portance.  It  is  evident  that  if  foreigners  are  not  to  be 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  local  authorities  they  should 
be  kept  near  enough  to  their  own  consulates  to  be  under 
the  restraint  of  their  national  authorities.  Eighty  years 
ago  five  cities  were  opened.  After  the  second  war  with 
Great  Britain  eight  more  were  opened,  and  since  that  time 
the  number  has  grown  to  about  one  hundred.  Many  of 
these,  however,  are  of  slight  interest  to  any  foreign  power 
except  Japan,  and  Japan  apparently  is  influenced  by  other 
than  purely  commercial  motives  in  asking  for  the  opening 


542  Foreign  Trade 

of  some  of  the  towns  in  regions  where  she  claims  special 
interests. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  open 
cities.  A  list  of  the  most  important,  with  their  location, 
will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  together  with  population 
and  trade  statistics.  The  open  cities  and  towns  may 
be  grouped  in  five  classes.  The  first  class  includes  treaty 
ports  with  national  settlements,  such  as  Canton,  Hankow, 
Kiukiang,  Chinkiang,  Tientsin  and  Newchwang,  where 
one  or  more  foreign  powers  have  each  established  a 
separate  settlement  under  the  government,  either  of  its 
consular  authorities,  or  that  of  the  Consul  and  the 
national  community.  Before  the  recent  World  War 
there  were  five  separate  foreign  municipalities  at  Hankow 
and  eight  at  Tientsin.  Since  the  close  of  the  war  Germany 
and  Austria  have  lost  their  settlements.  Such  a  multiplica¬ 
tion  of  municipal  governments  in  communities  of  a  few 
thousand  people  is  not  only  wholly  unnecessary,  but  is 
often  a  source  of  friction  between  the  various  foreign 
colonies.  The  second  class  is  composed  of  those  open  ports 
where  there  are  international  settlements  governed  by 
municipal  councils  elected  by  the  foreign  residents.  Such 
are  Shanghai  (except  the  French  Concession)  and  Amoy. 
These  international  governments  are  in  some  respects  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Consular  Corps  of  the  port  concerned 
and  of  the  Diplomatic  Representatives  at  Peking.  The 
regulations  adopted  by  the  Council  must  have  the  approval 
of  these  foreign  authorities,  and  in  case  of  suit  against  the 
municipality  the  Court  of  Consuls  has  jurisdiction. 

The  third  class  may  be  said  to  be  made  up  of  those  ports 
which  have  long  been  open  to  foreign  residence  and  trade, 
but  where,  for  various  reasons,  no  separate  foreign  settle¬ 
ment  has  been  established.  The  foreigners  may  gather  in 
one  quarter,  usually  but  not  always  outside  the  city  walls, 
but  no  area  has  been  set  aside  by  the  Chinese  Government 
for  such  residence,  and  there  is  therefore  no  regularly 
established  foreign  municipal  control.  The  few  Europeans 
and  Americans  gathered  in  such  places  generally  cooperate 
in  matters  relating  to  the  safety  and  comfort  of  the  com- 


Foreign  Trade 


543 


munity.  They  assess  themselves  for  such  purposes  as  road¬ 
building,  lighting,  street  cleaning,  and  the  employment  of 
night  watchmen,  but  the  only  representatives  of  foreign 
jurisdiction  are  the  Consuls  located  there,  some  of  whom 
are  frequently  chosen  from  among  the  merchants  of  the 
nationalities  concerned.  Such'  ports  are  Foochow  and 
Chefoo. 

The  fourth  class  includes  the  towns  which  China  has  of 
her  own  volition  thrown  open  to  foreign  residence  and 
trade.  This  has  generally  been  done  to  forestall  a  demand 
by  some  foreign  power.  The  advantage  to  China  in  so 
doing  is  that  the  area  set  aside  for  foreign  residence  is 
retained  under  the  municipal  control  of  the  Chinese  authori¬ 
ties.  The  foreign  Consuls  located  at  such  places  look  after 
the  protection  of  their  national  interests  but  do  not  inter¬ 
fere  in  the  local  government.  Such  places  are  Tsinan  in 
Shantung  and  Yochow  in  Hunan. 

The  fifth  class  is  composed  of  ports  situated  in  leased 
territories,  such  as  Dairen  and  Port  Arthur  in  Manchuria, 
Weihaiwei  in  Shantung,  Kuangchowwan  in  Kuangtung 
and  formerly  Tsingtao  in  Shantung.  The  last-mentioned 
is  in  the  territory  of  Kiaochow,  once  leased  to  Germany  but 
recently  returned  to  the  government  of  China  by  Japan. 
These  ports  in  leased  territories  are  governed  by  the  lessee 
power.  Other  foreign  powers  are  not  permitted  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  within  the  boundaries 
of  such  territories. 


ENTRANCE  AND  CLEARANCE  OF  SHIPPING 

To  enter  a  Chinese  port  pilotage  is  not  compulsory,  but 
pilots  are  available.  Scales  of  fees  are  fixed  and  easily 
obtainable.21  Vessels  are  moored  in  accordance  with  the 
orders  of  the  Harbor  Master.  Any  violation  of  his  orders 
will  prevent  loading,  unloading  or  clearance  of  the  vessel 
until  the  orders  are  obeyed.  Vessels  moored  by  their  own 
anchors  pay  no  mooring  charges,  but  those  made  fast  to 

21  For  Shanghai  see  Arnold,  1 1  Commercial  Handbook  of  China,” 
Vol.  II,  p.  152. 


544 


Foreign  Trade 


fixed  moorings  pay  a  small  fee.  All  vessels  pay  wharfage 
dues,  which  in  Shanghai  are  2  per  cent  of  the  duty.  Every 
harbor  has  its  own  special  regulations  to  prevent  obstruct 
tion  of  the  channel,  the  disposal  of  garbage  and  refuse,  the 
landing  of  explosives  and  other  dangerous  goods,  the  use 
of  whistles  and  sirens,  and  other  matters  affecting  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  port. 

In  China,  as  in  other  foreign  countries,  the  master  of  an 
American  vessel,  on  arriving  in  port,  deposits  his  ship’s 
papers  with  his  Consul,  and  when  evidence  is  presented  to 
show  that  all  disputes  between  Master  and  crew  have  been 
settled,  all  dues  and  duties  paid,  and  other  port  regulations 
complied  with,  clearance  is  granted  and  the  ship’s  papers 
returned  to  its  master. 

The  tonnage  dues  payable  to  the  Chinese  Government22 
vary  from  one  mace  per  ton  register,  for  vessels  under  150 
tons,  to  four  mace  per  ton  for  those  over  that  limit.  A 
mace,  in  1921,  was  equivalent  to  U.  S.  $0,076.  In  addition 
to  the  tonnage  dues  special  taxes  are  levied  in  certain  ports 
to  cover  the  cost  of  harbor  improvements.  In  Shanghai 
three  per  cent  of  the  customs  duty  on  cargo  is  added  for 
the  support  of  the  river  conservancy  work.  In  Tientsin, 
to  pay  for  the  dredging  of  the  Taku  Bar,  a  tax  is  levied 
of  four  per  cent  of  the  customs  duties  on  cargo,  and  an 
additional  tax  of  ten  taels  cents  a  ton  on  the  shipping  that 
crosses  the  bar.  On  the  tonnage  of  ships  that  remain  out¬ 
side  five  tael  cents  a  ton  is  levied,  or  ten  tael  cents  a  ton 
on  all  cargo  discharged  or  loaded.23  At  various  other  ports 
similar  surtaxes  are  levied  for  the  support  of  conservancy 
work. 


THE  TARIFF 

The  Chinese  Government  levies  duties  on  exports  as  well 
as  imports.  The  rate  has  been  fixed  by  treaty  at  five  per 
cent  ad  valorem,  as  stated  elsewhere.24  A  number  of  articles 

22  Ibid.,  Yol.  II,  p.  151. 

23  Arnold,  “Commercial  Handbook  of  China,’ ’  Vol.  II,  p.  314. 

24  Chapters  XYII  and  XXIII. 


Foreign  Trade 


545 


are  placed  on  the  free  list.  Of  imports  food-stuffs,  gold 
and  silver,  whether  in  bullion  or  coin,  books,  charts,  maps 
and  periodicals  are  free.  The  import  of  certain  articles 
is  prohibited.  Among  these  are  opium,  morphia — except 
when  certified  to  be  for  medical  purposes — and  salt.  The 
import  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war  of  all  descriptions  is 
forbidden,  except  at  the  requisition  of  the  Chinese  Goverm 
ment  or  for  sale  to  persons  duly  authorized  by  the  Gov¬ 
ernment.  The  regulation  covers  sporting  arms  and  am¬ 
munition,  but  reputable  persons  can  usually  obtain  the 
necessary  permit  from  the  Chinese  authorities. 

Goods  imported  at  one  port  which  have  paid  duty  may 
be  shipped  to  another  open  port  without  additional  pay¬ 
ment  of  duty,  provided  they  are  accompanied  by  an  ex¬ 
emption  certificate  which  will  be  issued  upon  application 
by  the  Customs. 

Goods  re-exported  after  payment  of  import  duty,  if 
shipped  within  three  years  in  their  original  packages  and 
with  original  markings,  may  claim  a  refund  of  the  customs 
duties  paid.  If  the  original  packing  is  destroyed  no  refund 
can  be  claimed,  but  the  goods  may  be  exported  free  of 
export  duty.25 

Goods  shipped  from  the  port  of  entry  to  any  place  other 
than  a  treaty  port,  and  goods  brought  from  the  interior 
to  a  treaty  port  are  liable  to  the  payment  of  likin,  which, 
as  said  elsewhere,  is  a  tax  on  goods  in  transit.  This  ob¬ 
struction  to  free  trade  in  the  interior  of  China  has  been 
the  source  of  much  complaint.  The  annoyance  caused  by 
detention  and  examination  of  goods  and  frequent  collections 
of  likin  is  avoidable  to  some  extent  by  the  payment  of  a 
commutation  transit  tax.  For  imports  going  inland  the 
commutation  tax  amounts  to  a  half  import  duty  on  duti¬ 
able  goods  and  two  and  one-half  per  cent  ad  valorem  on 
duty  free  goods.  This  payment  is  made  at  the  place  of 
import,  and  a  transit  pass  is  issued  which  accompanies  the 
goods  to  destination.  For  exports  the  properly  certified 
foreign  firm  obtains  at  the  Custom  House  a  blank  pass, 
which  is  sent  with  his  agent  into  the  interior.  In  accord- 

25  Arnold,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II,  p.  87. 


546 


Foreign  Trade 


ance  with  its  terms  the  buyer  is  enabled  to  bring  goods  to 
the  port  of  shipment  without  payment  of  likin.  Before 
shipment  abroad  the  half  duty  and  export  duty  are  paid 
at  the  port.  Foreign  governments  usually  hold  that  the 
payment  of  the  commutation  transit  tax  should  exempt  the 
goods  from  all  other  taxation  after  reaching  destination, 
but  the  Chinese  local  authorities  frequently  levy  octroi  at 
the  city  gates  or  impose  a  destination  tax  in  some  other 
form.  The  text  of  Article  XI  of  the  Japanese  Commercial 
Treaty  of  1896  provides  as  follows: 

It  shall  be  at  the  option  of  any  Japanese  subject  desiring  to 
convey  duly  imported  articles  to  an  inland  market  to  clear  his 
goods  of  all  transit  duties  by  payment  of  a  commutation  transit 
tax  or  duty  equal  to  one-half  of  the  import  duty  in  respect  of 
dutiable  articles  and  two  and  one-half  per  cent  upon  the  value 
in  respect  of  duty  free  articles;  and  on  payment  thereof  a  cer¬ 
tificate  shall  be  issued  which  shall  exempt  the  goods  from  all 
further  inland  charges  whatsoever. 

The  phrase  “All  further  inland  charges  whatsoever”  would 
seem  at  first  glance  to  sustain  the  contention  of  foreigners, 
but  the  Chinese  hold  with  considerable  show  of  reason  that 
the  likin  from  which  exemption  is  claimed  is  a  tax  on  goods 
in  transit,  and  that  nothing  else  was  under  consideration 
in  the  drafting  of  the  article,  so  that  the  exemption  cannot 
be  made  to  apply  to  taxes  levied  after  the  arrival  of  goods 
at  destination. 

TARIFF  REVISION 

Although  the  tariff  is  fixed  at  five  per  cent  ad  valorem, 
the  duties  in  the  schedule  have  as  a  rule  been  converted 
into  specific  duties.  Since  prices  are  continually  changing 
the  specific  duty  occasionally  represents  a  rate  quite  other 
than  five  per  cent.  For  this  reason  the  schedule  has  several 
times  been  revised.  The  first  occasion  was  in  1858.  The 
export  duties  have  remained  practically  unchanged  since 
that  date. 

Many  Chinese  statesmen  recognize  the  unwisdom  of  a 
tax  upon  exports,  but,  since  the  Powers  deny  tariff 


Foreign  Trade 


547 


autonomy  to  China,  and  since  she  is  therefore  unable  to 
raise  needed  revenues  from  imports,  the  duty  on  exports 
is  still  levied.  Japan  in  1858  adopted  a  similar  practice, 
but  the  export  duty  there  was  abandoned  in  1878. 

In  1901,  after  the  Boxer  troubles,  which  placed  a  heavy 
indemnity  upon  China,  the  treaty  powers  agreed  to  another 
revision  of  the  import  duties  in  order  to  bring  them  up  to 
an  effective  five  per  cent  ad  valorem.  This  revision  was 
accomplished  in  1902,  and  the  new  specific  schedule  was 
appended  to  our  revised  treaty  of  1903.  By  1917  prices 
again  had  so  far  altered  that  another  revision  was  made, 
and,  since  many  powers  were  then  at  war  and  prices  ab¬ 
normal,  it  was  agreed  that  a  further  revision  should  be 
had  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  War.  In  1921,  however, 
the  Washington  Conference  was  called  to  consider  Pacific 
and  Far  Eastern  Questions,  as  well  as  those  relating  to 
Limitation  of  Armament.  The  revision  was,  therefore,  post¬ 
poned.  At  the  Washington  Conference  China  urged  her 
claims  to  tariff  autonomy  and  asked  that,  if  the  powers 
there  represented  would  not  agree  to  an  immediate  restora¬ 
tion  of  tariff  autonomy,  arrangements  might  be  made  for 
such  return  to  her  of  her  sovereign  right  at  some  definite 
date  in  the  future.  But  China  was  in  a  disturbed  con¬ 
dition,  and  the  commercial  powers  of  the  West  were  selfish. 
The  request  was  not  granted,  but  a  treaty  dealing  with 
the  tariff  was  signed  by  all  the  nine  powers  represented. 
That  treaty  promised  an  immediate  revision  of  the  tariff 
schedule  to  make  the  duties  correspond  to  the  requirements 
of  the  earlier  treaties,  and  held  out  the  hope  of  an  increase 
in  the  rate,  the  abolition  of  likin,  and  the  abolition  of  the 
reduction  allowed  in  duties  on  goods  imported  over  the 
land  frontiers.  The  revision  to  bring  the  duties  up  to  an 
effective  five  per  cent  ad  valorem  has  already  been  com¬ 
pleted.  The  new  schedule  went  into  effect  January  17, 
1923.  This  could  be  done  without  waiting  for  the  ratifica¬ 
tion  of  the  Washington  Treaty,  since  the  old  treaties  have 
fixed  that  rate.  But  the  more  important  provisions  of  the 
Washington  Treaty  cannot  be  carried  out  until  all  the 
powers  signatory  shall  have  ratified  it. 


Foreign  Trade 


548 


CONSULAR  FUNCTIONS 

Goods  shipped  to  the  United  States,  whether  from  China 
or  elsewhere,  must  be  accompanied  by  an  invoice  certified 
by  the  consul  at  the  port  of  shipment.  This  is  necessary 
to  enable  the  customs  authorities  in  the  United  States  to 
keep  informed  as  to  the  prices  of  articles  imported,  and 
thus  make  a  correct  estimate  of  the  duty.  Only  shipments 
of  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  value,  or  personal  effects 
accompanying  a  passenger,  are  exempt  from  this  require¬ 
ment.  The  certifying  of  invoices  is,  therefore,  one  of  the 
most  important  functions  of  the  consul.  He  must  keep 
himself  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  market,  the  fluc¬ 
tuations  of  prices  and  exchange.  In  the  case  of  certain 
kinds  of  goods  he  is  required,  moreover,  to  see  that  they 
are  disinfected  and  certify  to  that  fact.  He  must  know, 
too,  that  the  vessel  departing  for  an  American  port  is  in 
proper  sanitary  condition  and  grant  it  a  bill  of  health. 
When  epidemics  occur  these  must  be  promptly  reported  to 
the  American  Government  and,  if  quarantine  regulations 
are  in  force,  he  must  see  that  they  are  observed  by  Ameri¬ 
can  vessels  or  those  departing  for  the  United  States. 

All  Americans  in  China  are  registered  at  the  consulates. 
Marriages,  births  and  deaths  are  recorded,  passports  issued, 
and  certificates  granted  to  Chinese  students,  merchants, 
travelers  and  officials  departing  for  the  United  States,  to 
assure  our  immigration  authorities  that  such  persons  do 
not  belong  to  the  classes  of  Chinese  excluded  from  the 
United  States.  The  consul  must  also  report  regularly  to 
the  Department  of  State  upon  the  condition  of  trade  in  his 
district. 

The  United  States  has  seventeen  consulates  in  China, 
not  including  that  at  Hongkong,  which  is  a  British  Crown 
Colony.  All  China  is  divided  into  districts.  Each  district, 
with  all  Americans  and  American  interests  therein,  is 
under  the  supervision  of  one  of  the  consulates. 

Owing  to  the  enjoyment  by  the  United  States  of  extra¬ 
territorial  jurisdiction  over  American  citizens  in  China, 


Foreign  Trade 


549 


the  consuls  there  are  charged  with  judicial  functions.  All 
case  of  a  criminal  character  involving  offenses  which  under 
American  law  are  punishable  with  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
dollars,  or  imprisonment  for  sixty  days,  or  both,  are  tried 
by  the  consul.  More  serious  cases  are  tried  by  the  United 
States  Court  for  China,  and  even  in  the  cases  of  less  im¬ 
portance  appeals  lie  from  the  consular  courts  to  the  United 
States  Court  for  China.  From  the  decisions  of  the  latter 
appeals  lie  to  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
of  the  Ninth  Judicial  Circuit — California. 

Cases  of  Americans  against  Chinese  are  tried  in  Chinese 
courts  by  Chinese  law,  but  the  American  Government  is 
represented  by  a  consular  officer  who  sits  as  an  assessor, 
with  the  right  to  question  and  cross-question  witnesses  and 
to  protest  if  need  be  against  the  procedure  or  decision  of 
the  court.  Appeals  lie  to  the  higher  authorities  of  China, 
who  review  the  case  in  conference  with  the  superior  con¬ 
sular  authorities. 

TRADE-MARKS,  COPYRIGHTS  AND  PATENTS 

Various  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  in  the 
past  by  American  and  other  foreign  representatives  in 
China  to  obtain  protection  there  for  trade-marks,  copy¬ 
rights  and  patents.  The  importance  of  such  protection  is 
easily  seen.  In  our  treaty  of  1903  China  agreed  to  give 
the  protection  needed,  except  that  in  the  case  of  copyrights 
the  protection  is  granted  only  to  books,  maps,  prints  and 
engravings  especially  prepared  for  the  use  and  education 
of  the  Chinese  people. 

The  regulations  for  the  protection  of  trade-marks  were 
published  in  the  autumn  of  1904,  but  inasmuch  as  several 
European  powers  objected  to  certain  of  the  requirements, 
they  were  rescinded  after  remaining  in  force  but  three 
days.  Attempts  have  since  been  made  to  draft  a  set  of 
rules  to  which  all  would  agree,  but  thus  far  these  attempts 
have  failed,  and  the  failure  to  agree  in  the  matter  of  trade¬ 
marks  has  prevented  the  adoption  of  regulations  relating 
to  copyrights  and  patents.  Laws  relating  to  copyrights 
have  been  promulgated,  but  have  not  been  accepted  by  the 
Powers  as  fulfilling  the  provisions  of  the  treaties. 


550 


Foreign  Trade 


In  practice,  however,  a  degree  of  protection  is  secured 
by  arrangement  with  local  Chinese  authorities,  who  issue 
proclamations  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  our  treaty 
warning  against  infringement.  Chinese  who  are  thereafter 
found  guilty  of  infringement  of  trade-marks,  copyrights 
or  patents  are  tried  and  punished  by  the  Chinese  authori¬ 
ties.  Preliminary  to  the  issue  of  the  proclamation  regis¬ 
tration  should  be  made  with  the  Maritime  Customs  authori¬ 
ties  at  Shanghai  and  Tientsin.  Such  registration  can  be 
made  through  the  consulates  at  those  ports.  This  arrange¬ 
ment,  of  course,  does  not  protect  such  industrial  property 
against  infringement  in  China  by  non-Chinese.  To  secure 
such  protection  the  American  Government  has  entered  into 
a  number  of  treaties  with  other  powers  to  give  mutual  pro¬ 
tection  in  their  extraterritorial  courts  in  China  to  trade¬ 
marks,  copyrights  and  patents.26 

THE  CHINA  TRADE  ACT  OF  1922 

Heretofore  American  merchants  in  China  have  been 
handicapped  to  a  degree  by  the  want  of  any  federal  in¬ 
corporation  law,  and  by  the  exemption  from  income  taxes 
enjoyed  by  their  competitors  in  trade.  This  handicap  has 
now  been  removed  by  the  China  Trade  Act,  approved  Sep¬ 
tember  19th,  1922.  This  provides  for  the  appointment  of 
a  Registrar,  who  must  be  an  officer  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  whose  office  shall  be  in  China.  Companies 
incorporated  under  this  act  have  their  head  offices  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  A  majority  of  the  incorporators  and 
directors  must  be  American  citizens,  and  one  must  be  a 
resident  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  duration  of  the 
corporation  is  not  to  exceed  twenty-five  years,  but  may  be 
extended  from  one  period  to  another  by  the  Secretary  of 
Commerce.  Such  companies  may  engage  in  general  trade 
and  other  forms  of  business  enterprise  except  banking  and 
insurance. 

26  Such  treaties  exist  between  the  United  States  and  the  follow¬ 
ing  countries:  Belgium,  France,  Germany,  Great  Britain,  Italy, 
Japan,  the  Netherlands,  Russia  and  Sweden.  Russia  and  Germany, 
however,  no  longer  enjoy  extraterritorial  jurisdiction. 


Foreign  Trade 


551 


An  important  provision  amends  the  Revenue  Act  of  1921 
so  as  to  exempt  from  income  tax  “an  amount  equal  to  the 
proportion  of  the  net  income  derived  from  sources  within 
China  which  the  par  value  of  the  shares  of  stock  of  the 
Corporation  owned  on  the  last  day  of  the  taxable  year 
by  individual  citizens  of  the  United  States  or  China,  resi¬ 
dent  in  China,  bears  to  the  par  value  of  the  whole  number 
of  the  shares  of  stock  of  the  corporation  outstanding  on 
such  date.”27 

This  Act,  the  writer  believes,  will  take  rank  with  that  of 
1906  creating  the  U.  S.  Court  for  China,  in  the  importance 
which  it  has  for  the  advancement  of  American  interests  for 
China. 


MINING  AND  MANUFACTURING 

The  investment  of  foreign  capital  in  mining  and  manu¬ 
facturing  enterprises  in  China  is  provided  for  by  treaty 
and  by  Chinese  legislation,  but  the  mining  regulations 
adopted  by  the  Chinese  Government  are  not  of  a  character 
to  encourage  such  investment.  With  a  very  natural  desire 
to  protect  her  own  interests  China  forbids  the  holding  by 
foreigners  of  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  the  shares  of  any 
mining  corporation. 

27  The  Act  further  provides  that  the  amount  exempted  shall  not 
exceed  the  amount  of  a  special  dividend  certified  under  another 
paragraph  which  reads  as  follows: 

‘  ‘  Such  credit  shall  not  be  allowed  unless  the  Secretary  of  Com’ 
merce  has  certified  to  the  Commissioner  (1)  the  amount  which, 
during  the  year  ending  on  the  date  of  filing  the  return,  the  cor¬ 
poration  has  distributed  as  a  special  dividend  to  or  for  the  benefit 
of  such  individuals  as  on  the  last  day  of  the  taxable  year  were 
citizens  of  the  United  States  or  China,  resident  in  China,  and  owned 
shares  of  stock  of  the  corporation,  (2)  that  such  special  dividend 
was  in  addition  to  all  other  amounts,  payable  or  to  be  payable  to 
such  individuals  or  for  their  benefit,  by  reason  of  their  interest  in 
the  corporation,  and  (3)  that  such  distribution  has  been  made  to 
or  for  the  benefit  of  such  individuals  in  proportion  to  the  par  value 
of  the  shares  of  stock  of  the  corporation  owned  by  each;  except 
that  if  the  corporation  has  more  than  one  class  of  stock,  the  cer¬ 
tificate  shall  contain  a  statement  that  the  articles  of  incorporation 
provide  a  method  for  the  apportionment  of  such  special  dividend 
among  such  individuals,  and  that  the  amount  certified  has  been 
distributed  in  accordance  with  the  method  so  provided.  ’  ’ 


552 


Foreign  Trade 


Such  corporations  are  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
Provincial  Industrial  Bureau  of  the  province  concerned.28 
These  provisions  are  not  of  a  sort  to  induce  foreign  capi¬ 
talists  to  invest  in  large  amounts  except  in  places  where 
special  mining  grants  have  been  made  by  treaties  upon 
terms  not  affected  by  these  regulations. 

Investment  of  foreign  capital  in  manufacturing,  how¬ 
ever,  does  not  suffer  from  any  such  restriction. 

Although  manufacturing  in  a  small  way,  with  steam 
driven  machinery,  was  begun  by  foreigners  in  China  soon 
after  the  opening  of  the  free  ports  in  1842,  it  was  not  until 
1895  that  express  permission  to  do  so  was  granted  by 
treaty.  The  Peace  Treaty  between  China  and  Japan  of 
that  year  provides  in  Article  XI  that 

Japanese  subjects  shall  be  free  to  engage  in  all  kinds  of 
manufacturing  industries  in  all  the  open  cities,  towns  and  ports 
of  China,  and  shall  be  at  liberty  to  import  into  China  all  kinds 
of  machinery,  paying  only  the  stipulated  import  duty  thereon. 

This  provision  was  expanded  the  following  year  in  a  pro¬ 
tocol  appended  to  the  Japanese  Commercial  Treaty  of 
1896.  Article  III  of  that  protocol  says : 

The  Government  of  Japan  concedes  the  right  of  the  Chinese 
Government  to  impose  upon  articles  manufactured  by  Japanese 
subjects  in  China  such  a  tax  as  may  seem  expedient,  provided 
that  the  said  tax  shall  not  differ  from  or  exceed  the  tax  paid 
by  Chinese  subjects;  and  provided  that  the  Chinese  Government 
shall,  when  the  Japanese  Government  so  desires,  immediately 
provide  sites  for  the  formation  of  special  Japanese  settlements 
in  Shanghai,  Tientsin,  Amoy  and  Hankow. 

Under  this  provision  the  building  of  factories  and  the  use 
of  steam  driven  machinery  received  quite  an  impetus. 
Other  countries  than  Japan  claimed  favored  nation  treat¬ 
ment.  But  it  was  after  the  settlement  of  the  Boxer  troubles 
that  foreign  enterprise  in  this  direction  became  most  notice¬ 
able.  The  British  Commercial  Treaty  of  1902  and  our  own 

28  China  Year  Book,  1922-23,  p.  131. 


Foreign  Trade 


553 


of  1903,  containing  substantially  the  same  provisions  re¬ 
lating  to  the  subject,  sought  to  obtain  in  exchange  for  a 
surtax  on  import  duties,  still  more  favorable  treatment  for 
“products  of  foreign  type  turned  out  by  machinery  in 
China.  ’  ’  Such  goods,  whether  manufactured  by  foreigners 
or  by  Chinese,  were  to  be  granted  a  rebate  of  the  import 
duty  and  of  two-thirds  of  the  surtax  on  raw  materials 
brought  from  abroad  used  in  such  manufacture,  and  of 
all  duties  paid  on  Chinese  raw  material  used,  and  be  free 
of  all  export  duty,  coast  trade  duty  and  export  surtax. 
But  these  provisions  have  never  gone  into  effect,  because 
the  treaty  powers,  other  than  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain  and  Japan,  have  never  agreed  to  the  increase  in 
duties  on  imports. 

The  investment  of  foreign  and  Chinese  capital  in  such 
enterprises,  however,  has  not  needed  the  proposed  addi¬ 
tional  encouragement.  China  is  a  great  reservoir  of  cheap 
and  fairly  efficient  labor.  The  Chinese  workman  soon 
learns  to  use  foreign  machinery,  and  bids  fair  to  become 
a  dangerous  rival  of  the  "Western  operative. 

The  transformation  that  is  thus  taking  place  in  China 
is  not  advantageous  to  American  trade.  For  a  time  there 
will  be  a  demand  for  foreign  machinery,  and  manufac¬ 
turers  of  machinery  will  profit  thereby,  but  the  use  of  such 
machinery  must  in  the  long  run  reduce  our  export  of 
articles  of  the  type  being  manufactured  by  it.  It  is  bring¬ 
ing  cheap  oriental  labor  into  competition  with  our  own 
more  highly  paid  labor.  As  stated  above,  the  competition 
at  present  is  to  be  found  only  in  coarser  types  of  products, 
but  as  skill  increases  it  is  likely  to  affect  the  finer  sorts. 

It  is  not  alone  the  foreigner  in  China  who  is  investing 
funds  in  these  enterprises;  many  of  the  share-holders  in 
foreign  companies  are  Chinese.  It  will  be  noted  that  our 
Trade  Act  of  1922  specifically  provides  for  such  share¬ 
holders  in  American  companies.  There  are  also  a  number 
of  large  enterprises  that  are  entirely  Chinese.29 

The  change  which  China  is  undergoing  through  the  sub- 

29  For  statistics  of  factories  see  China  Year  Book,  1921-22, 
ck.  XXV. 


554 


Foreign  Trade 


stitution  of  machinery  for  handicraft  is  one  which  was 
bound  to  come,  and  China,  with  a  territory  as  large  as  our 
own  and  with  national  resources  similar  to  our  own  in 
quantity  and  kind,  is  likely  in  the  future  to  become  one 
of  our  chief  competitors  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  But 
that  future  is  still  in  the  far  distance. 


I 


IMPORTANT  DATES  IN  CHINESE  HISTORY 


b.c.  2356. 

2205. 
1766. 
1122. 
841. 
605. 
551. 
479. 
372. 
249. 
212. 
204. 
A.D.  65. 
618. 
635. 

1275. 

1516. 

1552. 

1557. 

1601. 

1637. 

1644. 

1644. 

1689. 

1689. 

1720. 

1729. 

1733. 

1784. 

1793. 

1796. 

1800. 

1807. 

1836. 

1834. 


Probable  date  of  accession  of  Yao,  the  first  ruler 
mentioned  in  the  Book  of  History. 

Traditional  date  of  the  founding  of  the  Hsia  Dynasty. 
Founding  of  the  Shang  Dynasty. 

Founding  of  the  Chou  Dynasty. 

Historical  period  commences. 

Traditional  date  of  birth  of  Lao  Tzu. 

Birth  of  Confucius. 

Death  of  Confucius. 

Birth  of  Mencius. 

End  of  the  Chou  Djmasty. 

Confueian  classics'  burned. 

Great  Wall  completed. 

Buddhism  introduced. 

Mohammedanism  introduced. 

First  Christian  missionaries  (Nestorian)  arrived  at 
the  capital. 

Marco  Polo  reached  Peking. 

Portuguese  first  arrived  in  China. 

St.  Francis  Xavier  died  at  St.  John’s  Island. 
Portuguese  settle  at  Macao. 

Ricci  reaches  Peking. 

First  British  vessel  arrives  at  Canton. 

Russians  first  enter  the  valley  of  the  Amur. 

Manchus  capture  Peking. 

First  Treaty  between  Russia  and  China. 

British  establish  a  trading  post  at  Canton. 

Chinese  Co-hong  (Monopoly)  organized  at  Canton. 
First  edict  against  opium  smoking. 

Chinese  send  embassy  to  St.  Petersburg. 

August  28,  first  American  vessel,  “Empress  of 
China,”  arrives  at  Canton. 

Macartney’s  Embassy  (British)  arrives  at  Peking. 
Edict  against  opium  smoking. 

Edict  forbids  import  of  opium. 

Robert  Morrison,  first  Protestant  missionary,  reaches 
Canton. 

Amherst  embassy  arrives  at  Peking. 

British  East  India  Company’s  monopoly  ended. 

555 


Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History 


1839.  Commissioner  Lin  seizes  and  destroys  opium  at 

Canton. 

1840.  British  blockade  Canton. 

1842.  Anglo-Chinese  Treaty  of  Nanking  signed,  August  29. 

1843.  British  Commercial  Treaty  signed,  October  8. 

1843.  Shanghai  opened,  November  17. 

1844.  First  American  Treaty  with  China,  signed  July  3. 
1849.  Portuguese  expelled  Chinese  Customs  from  Macao, 

March  5. 

1849.  Governor  Amaral  assassinated,  August  22. 

1851.  Taiping  Rebellion  began. 

1853.  Nanking  captured  by  Taipings. 

1854.  Agreement  for  foreign  administration  of  Customs  at 

Shanghai,  June  29. 

1856.  Affair  of  the  lorcha  “Arrow”  at  Canton,  October  8. 

1857.  Canton  captured  by  British  and  French,  December  29. 

1858.  Tientsin  Treaties,  American,  British,  French  and 

Russian,  signed  in  June. 

1859.  Americans  and  Russians  ratify  treaties  of  1858. 
1859.  British  and  French  suffer  defeat  at  Taku,  June  25. 

1859.  Frederick  T.  Ward  enters  service  of  the  Chinese 

against  the  Taipings. 

1860.  British  and  French  take  Peking,  October  13. 

1860.  British  Convention  signed  at  Peking,  October  24, 
French,  October  25. 

1860.  Ward  captures  Sungkiang,  July  17. 

1861.  Robert  Hart  in  temporary  charge  of  Customs, 

June  30. 

1862.  Ward  killed  in  battle  at  Tzuchi,  September  21. 

1863.  Robert  Hart  appointed  Inspector  General  of  Cus¬ 

toms. 

1863.  Colonel  Gordon  assumed  command  of  Ward’s  army, 

March  25. 

1864.  Gordon  disbands  his  forces,  May  31. 

1864.  Nanking  recovered  by  Imperial  army  and  Taipings 
dispersed 

1866.  Mohammedan  rebellion  in  Ili. 

1867.  General  Tso  opens  campaign  against  rebels. 

1867.  American  war  ship  visits  Korea  in  January. 

1867.  French  annex  three  provinces’  of  Cochin  China,  in 
June. 

1867.  Burlingame  commissioned  by  China  as  envoy  to 

western  powers,  December  31. 

1868.  Burlingame  Treaty  in  re  Chinese  Immigration  signed, 

Washington,  July  28. 

1868.  American  war  ship  visits  Korea. 

1870.  Burlingame  died  at  St.  Petersburg,  February  23. 
1870.  Tientsin  Massacre,  June  21. 


Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History  557 


1871.  Russians  occupy  Ivuldja. 

1871.  American  naval  expedition  to  Korea,  May- July. 
1871.  Cable  to  Shanghai  opened,  June  3. 

1873.  Diplomatic  Corps  received  in  audience  for  first  time, 
June  29. 

1875.  January  12,  Kuanghsii  proclaimed  emperor. 

1875.  Augustus  R.  Margary,  British  diplomatic  officer, 
murdered  in  Yunnan  by  Chinese,  February  21. 

1875.  Coolie  traffic  at  Macao  suppressed. 

1876.  Japanese  naval  expedition  to  Korea  in  January. 

1876.  Japanese-Korean  Treaty  signed,  February  26. 

1876.  Great  famine  begins  in  Shansi. 

1876.  Chef oo  Treaty  (British)  signed  September  13. 

1876.  Railway  between  Shanghai  and  Woosung  begun. 

1876.  Chinese  protest  against  building  of  the  railway. 

1877.  Chinese  purchase  and  destroy  the  railway. 

1877.  First  Chinese  envoy  sent  to  London. 

1878.  Mohammedan  rebellion  suppressed,  January  2. 

1878.  First  Chinese  envoy  to  the  United  States  received, 

October  28. 

1878.  Kaiping  coal  mine  opened. 

1878.  Russia  asked  to  restore  Kuldja  to  China,  July. 

1878.  Customs  Post  Office  established,  December. 

1880.  American-Chinese  Immigration  Treaty,  signed  No¬ 
vember  17. 

1880.  American  Commercial  Treaty,  signed  November  17. 

1880.  Telegraph  land  lines  sanctioned,  November. 

1881.  Russia  surrenders  Kuldja  and  Hi,  Treaty  signed 

February  24. 

1881.  The  “Chinese  Rocket”  (locomotive)  made  first  trip, 
June  9,  from  Kaiping  Colliery  to  canal. 

1881.  Shanghai-Tientsin  telegraph  opened,  December  1. 

1882.  American  Treaty  with  Korea  signed,  May  22. 

1883.  Annam  becomes  French  protectorate,  August  25. 

1884.  Franco-Chinese  war  over  Annam. 

1884.  Chinese  and  Japanese  troops  fight  in  streets  of 

Seoul,  December  5. 

1885.  Chinese- Japanese  Convention  regarding  Korea  signed 

at  Tientsin,  April  18. 

1885.  Franco-Chinese  Treaty  of  Peace  signed  at  Tientsin, 

June  9. 

1886.  Franco-Chinese  Convention  in  re  frontier  trade, 

signed  April  25. 

1886.  Anglo-Chinese  Convention  in  re  Burmah  and  Tibet, 

signed  July  24. 

1887.  New  Franco-Chinese  Convention  in  re  frontier  trade, 

June  26. 


Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History 


1887.  Portuguese-Chinese  Treaty,  yields  Macao  to  Portugal, 

December  1. 

1888.  Railway  opened  from  Tongshan  to  Tientsin,  August. 
1890.  Anglo-Chinese  Convention  concerning  Sikkim  and 

Tibet,  March  17. 

1890.  Hanyang  Iron  Works  opened,  November  27. 

1891.  Anti-Missionary  Riots  in  Yangtze  Valley,  May-June. 

1894.  Anglo-Chinese  Convention  in  re  Burmah  and  Tibet, 

March  1. 

1894.  American-Chinese  Treaty  prohibiting  immigration  of 
Chinese  laborers  for  ten  years,  March  17. 

1894.  Tonghak  Rebellion  in  Korea,  March-May. 

1894.  China  and  Japan  declare  war,  August  1. 

1894.  Battle  of  the  Yalu,  September  17. 

1895.  Li  Hung-chang  arrives  at  Shimonoseki  to  negotiate 

peace. 

1895.  Peace  Treaty  with  Japan  signed,  April  17. 

1895.  Franco-Chinese  Convention  regarding  frontier  trade, 
June  20. 

1895.  Russia,  France  and  Germany  advise  Japan  to  retro¬ 

cede  the  Liaotung  Peninsula,  April. 

1896.  Russo-Chinese  Agreement  regarding  the  Chinese 

Eastern  Railway,  September  8. 

1897.  Declaration  as  to  non-alienation  of  Hainan,  March 

15. 

1897.  Two  German  missionaries  murdered  in  Shantung, 
November  1. 

1897.  Germans  seize  Tsingtao,  November  14. 

1898.  Declaration  as  to  non-alienation  of  Yangtze  Valley, 

February  11. 

1898.  Promise  to  Great  Britain  as  to  Inspectorate  General 
of  Customs,  February  13. 

1898.  Lease  of  Kiaochow  to  Germany  for  ninety-nine  years, 
March  6. 

1898.  Lease  of  Kuantung  Peninsula  to  Russia  for  twenty- 
five  years,  March  27. 

1898.  Declaration  as  to  non-alienation  of  southern  prov¬ 
inces. 

1898.  American  contract  for  Hankow-Canton  Railway. 
1898.  French  seize  Kuangchouwan,  April  22. 

1898.  Declaration  as  to  non-alienation  of  Fukien,  April  26. 
1898.  Anglo-Chinese  Convention  for  lease  of  Kowloon 
hinterland,  June  9. 

1898.  Anglo-Chinese  Convention  for  lease  of  Weihaiwei, 
July  1. 

1898.  Empress  Dowager  seizes  government,  imprisons  Em¬ 
peror,  September  22. 


Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History  559 

1899.  Anglo-Russian  agreement  as  to  interests  in  Man¬ 
churia  and  the  Yangtze  region,  April  29. 

1899.  Boxer  Society  organized  in  May. 

1899.  Secretary  Hay  sends  out  notes  on  Open  Door,  Sep¬ 

tember  6. 

1900.  Legation  Guards  sent  to  Peking,  May  31. 

1900.  Admiral  Seymour  leaves  Tientsin  for  Peking,  June 

10. 

1900.  Japanese  Secretary  Sugiyama  murdered,  June  11. 
1900.  Forts  at  Taku  captured  by  allied  forces,  June  17. 
1900.  China  declares  war,  June  20. 

1900.  Baron  von  Ketteler  murdered,  June  20. 

1900.  Allied  forces  enter  Peking,  August  14. 

1901.  Peace  signed  at  Peking,  September  7. 

1902.  Court  returns  to  Peking,  January  7. 

1902.  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  signed  January  30. 

1902.  British  Commercial  Treaty,  September  5. 

1903.  American  and  Japanese  commercial  treaties  signed, 

October  8. 

1903.  Great  Britain  sends  expedition  to  Tibet,  July. 

1904.  Japan  declares  war  on  Russia,  February  8. 

1904.  China  denounces  Immigration  Treaty  with  the  United 
States. 

1904.  British  forces  enter  Lhasa,  August  3. 

1905.  President  Roosevelt  suggests  that  Russia  and  Japan 

make  peace,  June  8. 

1905.  Anglo- Japanese  Treaty  of  Alliance  revised,  August 

12. 

1905.  Russia  and  Japan  sign  peace  treaty  at  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  September  5. 

1905.  China  accedes  to  transfer  to  Japan  of  Russian  rights 

in  Manchuria,  December  22. 

1906.  Anglo-Chinese  Treaty  concerning  Tibet,  April  27. 

1906.  Imperial  Edict  in  preparation  for  constitutional 

government,  September  1. 

1906.  Imperial  Edict  introducing  anti-opium  reform,  No¬ 
vember  21. 

1906.  Edict  raises  rank  of  Confucius  in  pantheon,  Decem¬ 

ber  30. 

1907.  First  municipal  elections  under  new  order. 

1907.  Anglo-Russian  agreement  touching  Tibet,  August  31. 

1908.  Death  of  the  Emperor,  Kuanghsii,  November  14. 

1908.  Death  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  Tzu-hsi,  November 

15. 

1909.  Opium  Commission  meets  at  Shanghai,  January  1. 

1909.  Provincial  assemblies  meet  in  October. 

1910.  Provisional  National  Assembly  meets,  October  3. 


560  Important  Dates  in  Chinese  History 


1911.  Four-Power  Group  signs  contract  for  Hukuang 
Railways,  May  20. 

1911.  October  10,  Outbreak  of  Revolution  at  Wuchang. 

1911.  Outer  Mongolia  declares  independence,  Hutukhtu 

crowned  Emperor,  December  28. 

1912.  Sun  Yat-sen  inaugurated  President  of  southern 

provinces,  January  1. 

1912.  Manchus  abdicate,  February  12. 

1912.  Yiian  Shih-kai  inaugurated  Provisional  President  of 

China,  March  10. 

1913.  Empress  Lungyii  dies,  February  21. 

1913.  The  United  States  recognizes  the  Chinese  Republic, 
May  2. 

1913.  Yiian  Shih-kai  inaugurated  President  of  China, 

October  10. 

1914.  Japan  demands  from  Germany  surrender  of  Kiao- 

chow,  August  15. 

1914.  Japan  and  Great  Britain  capture  Tsingtao,  Novem¬ 

ber  7. 

1915.  Japan  presents  to  China  Twenty-one  Demands,  Janu¬ 

ary  18. 

1915.  China  signs  Treaties  growing  out  of  twenty-one  de¬ 
mands,  May  25. 

1915.  Yiian  plans  to  make  himself  an  emperor;  Japan 

objects,  December. 

1916.  Insurrection  in  southern  provinces;  Yiian  dies, 

June  6. 

1917.  The  American  Government  invites  China  to  break 

relations  with  Germany,  February  4. 

1917.  China  agrees  to  American  proposal,  February  9. 
1917.  Secret  agreement  between  Japan  and  Great  Britain 
concerning  Shantung,  February  16. 

1917.  Secret  agreement  with  France  as  to  same,  March  1. 
1917.  Secret  agreement  with  Russia  as  to  same,  March  5. 
1917.  China  breaks  relations  with  Germany,  March  14. 
1917.  China  declares  war  on  Germany,  August  14. 

1917.  The  Lansing-Ishii  Notes  signed,  November  2. 

1918.  Secret  agreements  between  China  and  Japan  relating 

to  Shantung,  signed  September  24  and  28. 

1919.  Chinese  Delegation  to  Peace  Conference  declines  to 

sign  Treaty  of  Versailles,  June  28. 

1922.  Treaty  between  China  and  Japan  relating  to  Shan¬ 
tung  signed  at  Washington,  February  4. 

1922.  Nine-power  Treaty  relating  to  territorial  integrity 
and  independence  of  China  signed  at  Washington, 
February  6, 


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accurate  information  upon  the  subjects  touched  upon  in  this 
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APPENDIX 


China:  Area,  4,442,745  square  miles.  Population,  409,791,000 
Capital,  Peking;  population,  800,000 


1 

Area, 

Square 

Miles 

Population 

Capital 

Provinces: 1 

Heilungkiang 

’  Tsitsihar 

Kirin 

- 

460,000 

14,000,000 

- 

Kirin 

Fengtien  or  Shengking  , 

.  Mukden 

Chihli . 

115,830 

34,000,000 

Tientsin 

Shansi . . 

81,853 

11,000,000 

Taiyuan2 

Shensi . 

75,290 

9,500,000 

Hsian 

Kansu . 

125,483 

6,000,000 

Lanchow 

Sinkiang . 

550,000 

2,491,000 

Yarkand 

Shantung . . 

55,984 

30,000,000 

Tsinan 

Honan . 

67,954 

30,000,000 

Kaifeng 

Kiangsu . 

38,610 

25,000,000 

Nanking 

Anhui . 

54,826 

20,000,000 

Anking 

Hupei . 

71,428 

27,000,000 

Wuchang 

Kiangsi . 

69,428 

15,000,000 

Nanchang 

Hunan . 

83,398 

28,000,000 

Changsha 

Szechuen . 

218,533 

49,000,000 

Chengtu 

Chekiang . 

36,680 

22,000,000 

Hangchow 

Fukien . 

46,332 

14,000,000 

Foochow 

Kuangtung . 

100,000 

32,000,000 

Canton 

Kuangsi . 

77,220 

12,000,000 

Nanning 

Kueichou . 

67,182 

11,300,000 

Kueiyang 

Yunnan . 

146,714 

9,000,000 

Yunnan 

Other  Territories: 

Tibet 

700,000 

6,500,000 

Lhasa 

Kokonor  j 

Mongolia . 

1,200,000 

2,000,000 

Urga 

Total . 

4,442,745 

409,791,000 

Note. — Estimates  of  the  population  of  the  provinces  vary  greatly;  that  of 
Szechuen,  for  instance,  is  given  by  some  as  71,000,000  and  by  others  as  no  more 
than  23,000,000. 

1  Provinces  are  listed  beginning  in  the  northeast;  those  in  China  Proper  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  tiers  from  east  to  west. 

2  The  suffix  fu  is  often  added  to  this  and  many  other  city  names  indicating  that 
they  are  capitals  of  prefectures. 


571 


572 


Appendix 


Principal  Open  Cities  and  Towns 


Name 


Aigun . 

Sansing 3 . 

Manchouli . 

Harbin . 

Suifenho . 

Hunchun . 

Lungchingtsun . 

Antung . 

Tatungkow.  . .  . 

Dairen . 

Newchwang...  . 
Chinwangtao. . . 

Tientsin . 

Kalgan . 

Lungkow . 

Chefoo . 

Tsingtao . 

Chungking.  .  .  . 

Wanhsien . 

Changsha . 

Yochow . 

Ichang . 

Shasi . 

Hankow . 

Kiukiang . 

Wuhu . 

Nanking . 

Chinkiang . 

Shanghai . 

Soochow . 

Hangchow . 

Ningpo . 

Wenchow . 

Santuao . 

Foochow . 

Amoy . 

Swatow . 


Location 

Population 

Total  Trade 
1921, 
Taels 

Heilungkiang . 

15,000 

4,545,353 2 

Kirin . 

1,400 

6,445,813 

Heilungkiang . . 

11,300 

3,521,612 

Kirin . 

155,700 

18,343,395 

Kirin . 

4,300 

20,704,036 

Kirin . 

3^800 

1,446,886 

Kirin . 

3,200 

3,056,037 

Shengking . 

90,000 

63,304,457 

Shengking . 

4,900 

55,007 

Kuantung  Leased  Ter . 

124,000 

210,431,265 

Shengking . 

65,600 

57,364,464 

Chihli . 

5,000 

22,447,055 

Chihli . 

800,000 

224,779,202 

Chihli . 

60,000 

10,000,000 

(estimated) 

Shantung . 

5,400 

5,871,878 

Shantung . 

54,500 

55,575,867 

Shantung . 

67,800 

81,962,027 

Szechuen . 

497,400 

52,115,511 

Szechuen . 

80,000 

7,683,776 

Hunan . 

535,800 

29,545,544 

Hunan . 

4,500 

13,449,540 

Hupei . 

55,000 

4,341,809 

Hupei . 

105,000 

7,780,037 

Hupei . 

1,468,000 

173,546,774 

Kiangsi . 

36,000 

43,457,565 

Anhui . 

126,900 

32,992,971 

Kiangsu . 

392,100 

45,134,492 

Kiangsu . 

101,600 

27,507,564 

Kiangsu . 

1,500,000 

551,774,463 

Kiangsu . 

500,000 

19,376,987 

Chekiang . 

892,100 

22,216,913 

Chekiang . 

627,700 

34,416,836 

Chekiang . 

200,900 

8,859,854 

Fukien . 

8,000 

1,985,869 

Fukien . 

*624,000 

33,020,688 

Fukien . 

114,000 

30,970,060 

Kuangtung . 

85,000 

82,121,489 

2  The  figures  are  from  the  Maritime  Customs  Report  of  China,  a  tael  being  equal 
to  U.  S.  $0.76. 

3  These  ports  are  listed  in  the  same  order  as  in  Customs  reports  beginning  with 
those  in  northeast  Manchuria. 


Appendix 


5  73 


Principal  Open  Cities  and  Towns — Continued 


Name 

Location 

Population 

Total  Trade 
1921, 
Taels 

Canton . 

Kuangtung . . 

900,000 

165,232,378 

Kongmoon .... 

Kuangtung . 

70,000 

8,236,251 

Samshui . 

Kuangtung . 

7,000 

5,965,028 

Kiungchow .... 

Kuangtung  (Hainan).. 

59,000 

7,491,672 

Palchoi . 

Kuangtung . 

20,000 

4,819,656 

Wuchow . 

Kuangsi . 

50,000 

15,531,140 

Nanning . 

Kuangsi . 

50,000 

4,903,334 

Lungchow . 

Kuangsi . 

13,000 

85,552 

Mengtsz . 

Yunnan . 

10,000 

18,321,246 

Szemao . 

Y  iinnan . 

10,200 

10,000 

301,322 

4,946,784 

Tengyueh . 

Yunnan . 

Railways1 

All  lines  standard  gage  (4  ft.  8^  in.)  and  Government  Lines 
unless  otherwise  stated. 

Name  Mileage 

1.  Peking-Mukden  (Ching-Feng) .  526 

Branches : 

1.  Peking-Tungchow  (Tunghsien) .... 

2.  Fengtai-Lukouchiao . 

3.  Tangho-Chinwangtao . 

4.  Lienshan-Hulutao  Harbor . 

5.  Koupangtze-Yingkow  (Newchwang) 

6.  Tientsin-Hsiku . 

2.  Peking-Hankow  Railway . .  755 

Branches : 

1.  Liangsiang-Tuli 

2.  Liuliho-Choukueichuang 

3.  Kaoyihsien-Lincheng 

4.  Kaopeitien-Siling  (Imperial  Tombs) 

5.  Paotingfu . 

3.  Tientsin-Pukow  Railway .  627 

Northern  Section,  German-built,  392  miles  to  Han- 
chuang. 

Southern  Section,  British-built,  237  miles  Hanchuang 
to  Pukow. 

Branches  of  Northern  Section: 

1.  Chentangchwang-Liangwangchwang .  16 

2.  Lincheng-Tsaochwang .  19 

3.  Yenchowfu-Tsiningchow .  19^ 

i  Information  regarding  railways  from  China  Year  Book  and  Arnold’s  Commercial 
Handbook, 


to  local  coal  mines 


14 

4 

6 

7 

57 

3 


12 

10 

10 

26 

3 


574 


Appendix 


Name  Mileage 

4.  Lokou-Huangtaichiao .  5 

5.  Tuliu-Pauto-Techow-Grand  Canal .  2 

4.  Peking-Suiyuan  Railway .  4681 

Branch:  Peking-Mentaokao .  16| 

5.  Shanghai-Nanking  Railway . 194 

Branch:  Shanghai-Woosung .  10 

6.  Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo  Railway .  175 

Shanghai-Hangchow,  118  miles 

Hangchow-Ningpo,  53  miles 
Branch:  Junction  with  Shanghai-Nanking .  8 

7.  Cheng-Tai  Railway .  151 

From  Shihchiaochuang  on  Peking-Hankow  line  to 
Taiyuanfu  in  Shansi  (Metre-gage) 

8.  Taokow-Chinghua  Railway  (Government) .  93 

From  coal  mines  at  Chinghuachen  in  Shansi  to 
Taokow  where  water  connection  is  made  with 
Tientsin,  crosses  Peking-Hankow  line  at  Sinsiang. 

Branch:  Yiuchiafen-Taoching .  1 

9.  Lung-Hai  Railway  (includes  old  Pien-Lo  line,  Kaifengfu 

to  Honanfu,  115  miles) .  345 

Planned  to  extend  from  Haichow  on  the  sea-coast  via 
Hsuchow  in  Kiangsu,  Kaifeng  in  Honan  and 
Hsian  in  Shensi  to  Lanchow  in  Kansu  (about  345 
miles  completed  between  Hsuchow  and  Honanfu), 
crosses  Peking-Hankow  line  at  Chengchow,  Honan. 

10.  Kirin-Changchun  Railway . 80 

Operated  as  a  branch  of  the  South  Manchuria  Rail¬ 
way. 

11.  Chuchow-Pinghsiang .  56 

From  Chuchow,  Hunan  on  Hankow-Canton  line  to 
coal  mines  at  Pinghsiang,  Kiangsi. 

12.  Canton-Kowloon . : .  Ill 

The  southern  section,  22  miles,  from  Shum  Chun  to 
Kowloon  is  British. 

13.  Changchow-Amoy .  18 

14.  Ssupingkai-Taonan .  52 

Completed  as  far  as  Chengchiatun,  operated  as 
branch  of  S.  Manchuria,  from  Ssupingkai. 

15.  Canton-Hankow .  400 

Northern  Section,  Government  line,  260  miles 
completed,  Wuchang  to  Chuchow. 

Southern  Section,  private,  140  miles  completed, 

Canton  to  Shiukuan. 

Will  be  about  700  miles  when  complete;  about  400 
miles  completed,  leaving  a  gap  of  about  300  miles 

1  This  line  was  rapidly  approaching  completion  in  1922. 


Appendix 


575 


Name  Mileage 

between  Shiuchow  in  Kuangtung  and  Chuchow  in 
Hunan. 

16.  Canton-Samshui .  30 

17.  Yunnan  Railway .  288 

Metre  gage,  constructed  by  French  and  operated  by 
them  in  connection  with  line  from  Haiphong  to 
Laokai.  From  this  point  to  Yunnanfu  the  line  is 
in  Chinese  territory.  Whole  line  Haiphong  to 
Yunnanfu,  529  miles. 

18.  Shantung  Railway .  256 

Built  by  Germans  from  Tsingtao  to  Tsinan,  now 
nominally  a  Chinese  Government  line,  but  Japan 
still  has  a  claim  on  it  and  it  has  a  Japanese  Traffic 
Manager. 

Branches:  1.  Changtien-Poshan .  28 

2.  Tsaochuang-Taierhcliuang .  26 

19.  Kiangsi  Railway  (Kiangsi  Provincial  Government) ....  80 

From  Kiukiang  to  Nanchang. 

20.  Tsitsihar  Light  Railway  (Heilungkiang  Provincial 

Government) .  17 

Metre  gage,  from  Angangki  on  Chinese  Eastern  line 
to  Tsitsihar. 

21.  Chinese  Eastern  Railway  (Leased  to  Russia  but  oper¬ 

ated  at  present  by  China) . i.  921 

Main  line  from  Manchouli  to  Suifenho. 

Branch:  Flarbin  to  Kuanchengtzu  (Changchun) .  152 

These  lines  have  5  ft.  gage.  - 

Total .  1073 

22.  South  Manchuria  Railway  (Leased  to  Japan) .  439 

Main  line,  Kuanchengtzu  to  Dairen. 

Branches : 

а.  Kuanchengtzu  (Changchun)  to  Kirin.  (See  No.  10.) 

б.  Ssupingkai  to  Chengchiatun.  (See  14.) 

c.  Mukden- An tung .  189 

d.  Suchiatun  to  Fushun  Collieries .  39 

e.  Tashihchiao  to  Yingkow  (Newchwang) .  13 

/.  Choushuitzu  to  Port  Arthur .  28 

23.  Sunning  Railway  (Private) .  63 

From  Samkaphoi  via  Sunning  to  Kongmoon. 

24.  Swatow-Chaochowfu  (Private) .  26^ 

25.  Tayeh  Mines  Railway  (Private) .  17 

Narrow  gage  from  Huangchou  on  the  Yangtze  to  the 
Tayeh  iron  mines. 

26.  Tai-Tsao  Railway  (Private) .  27 

From  Yihsien  coal  mines  to  Taierhehuang  on  Grand 
Canal. 


576 


Appendix 


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Steamship  Companies — Continued 
II.  Other  Lines 


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18.  Shire  Line .  Great  Britain  and  China .  British 

19.  John  Warrack  &  Co .  British  and  China  ports .  British 

20.  The  Green  Star  SS.  Cor .  American  and  China  ports .  American 

Note. — This  list  is  not  complete,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  companies  having  most  frequent  sailings  are  included. 


Steamship  Companies — Continued 
II.  Other  Lines — Continued 


578 


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For  this  list  the  author  is  indebted  to  the  China  Year  Book. 


Distances  Along  the  Coast  (Nautical  Miles) 


Appendix 


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Hongkong  (British  Colony),  Saigon  (Indochina),  Dairen  (Japanese  Leased  Territory) 

1  Peking  is  not  an  open  city,  but  by  tolerance  of  China  many  foreigners  are  permitted  to  do  business  there. 


Appendix 


581 


Foreign  Population  of  China 


(From  the  Customs  Returns  for  1921) 


Nationality 

Firms 

Persons 

American . 

412 

8,230 

40 

Austrian  1 . 

Belgian . 

27 

505 

Brazilian . 

6 

42 

British . 

703 

9,298 

547 

Danish . 

28 

Dutch . 

31 

486 

French  . 

222 

2,453 

1,255 

8 

German  1 . 

92 

Hungarian  1 . . . 

Italian . 

42 

587 

Japanese . 

6,141 

144,434 

1 

Mexican . 

Norwegian . 

12 

227 

Portuguese . 

Russian . 

152 

1,613 

7 

3,493 

68,250 

286 

Spanish . 

Swedish . 

9 

434 

Non- treaty  Powers . 

14 

193 

Total . 

240,769 

l  Austrians,  Germans  and  Hungarians,  after  China  entered  the  World  War,  were 
ordered  to  quit  the  country.  Their  property  was  sequestrated  and  most  of  them 
were  repatriated.  Since  peace  was  established  and  new  treaties  signed,  they  have 
begun  to  return,  but  have  not  yet  recovered  their  former  importance. 


582 


Appendix 


Foreign  Mission  Statistics 
(Condensed  from  the  China  Year  Book,  1921-22) 


I.  Protestant  Missions 


Ordained  foreigners 

1,310 

Schools . 

6,894 

Physicians . 

464 

Hospitals . 

323 

Other  foreigners . .  . 

4,862 

Communicants . 

.  345,854 

Churches . 

6,391 

Chinese 

Force 

Ordained  Chinese . . 

1,064 

Teachers . 

10,848 

Evangelists . 

. .  11,256 

Total  Chinese  em- 

ployed . 

.  24,639 

Total  Christian  Constituency, 

Communicants  and 

Non-Com- 

municants  618,511. 

II. 

Roman  Catholic  Missions,  1920 

Bishops . 

52 

Christians . 

1,994,483 

European  Priests .  . , 

1,365 

Enquirers  under  In- 

Native  Priests . 

963 

struction . 

444,598 

Total  Roman  Catholic  Chinese  Community .  2,439,081 

Total  Christian  Community,  Protestant  and  Catholic.  3,057,592 


Educational  Statistics,  1916 


Government  schools,  all  grades .  129,739 

Number  of  students .  4,294,251 

Number  of  teachers .  198,976 

Administrative  officers .  130,799 

Expenditure  during  the  year .  $37,406,212  1 


1  A  Chinese  dollar  in  1923  equals  U.  S.  $0.55. 


Appendix 


5  83 


Banking  in  China 
I.  Foreign  Banks  in  China 


Name 


Head  Office 


Number  of 
Branches 


American  Express  Company .  . . 
American  Oriental  Banking 

Corporation . 

Asia  Banking  Corporation .... 

Bank  of  the  Salt  Industry . 

Banca  Commerciale  Industrial 

Estremo  Oriente . 

Bank  of  Chosen . 

Bank  of  Taiwan . 

Banque  Beige  pour  TEtranger . . 

Banque  de  lTndo  Chine . 

Banque  Industrielle  de  Chine. . 
Chartered  Bank  of  India, 

Australia  and  China . 

China  Trust  Company . 

Chinese  American  Bank  of 

Commerce . 

Chinghua  Exchange  Bank ..... 
Credit  Foncier  d'Extreme  Orient 
Equitable  Eastern  Banking 

Corporation . 

Hongkong  and  Shanghai  Bank¬ 
ing  Corporation . 

International  Banking  Cor . 

Mercantile  Bank  of  India,  Ltd. 

Mitsubishi  Bank,  Ltd . 

Mitsui  Bank,  Ltd . 

Nederlandsche  Handel  Maats- 

chappij . 

Park  Union  Foreign  Banking 

Cor . 

Philippine  National  Bank . 

Raven  Trust  Co . 

Russo-Asiatic  Bank . 

Sino-Italian  Bank . 

Sino-Scandinavian  Bank . 

Sumitomo  Bank,  Ltd . 

Yokohama  Specie  Bank,  Ltd . . . 


Shanghai . 

Shanghai . 

New  York . 

Peking . 

Rome . 

Seoul . . 

Taipeh,  Formosa. 

Brussels . 

Paris . 

Paris . 

London . 

Shanghai . 

Peking . 

Peking . 

Brussels . 

New  York . 

Hongkong . 

New  York . 

London . 

Tokyo . 

Tokyo . 

Amsterdam . 

New  York . 

Manila . 

Shanghai .  . . 

Paris . 


Peking 

Osaka . 

Yokohama 


4  (Agencies) 

2  (Affiliations) 

7 

8 

1 

18 

8 

3 

7 

11 

6 


6 

12 

6 

1 

9 

7 

2 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

13 

3 

3 

2 

13 


584 


Appendix 


II.  Chinese  Banks 


Name 

(a)  Government  Banks : 

Bank  of  China . 

Bank  of  Communications . 

(i b)1  Private  Banks: 

Frontier  Bank  of  China . 

Peking  Commercial  Bank . 

Wu  Tsu  Commercial  Bank . 

Salt  Industrial  Bank . 

Sing  Hwa  Savings  Bank . 

Tung  Lu  Commercial  &  Savings  Bank  .  .  . 
Tai  Wan  Agriculture  &  Commercial  Bank 

Sing  Hung  Commercial  Bank . 

Commercial  Guarantee  Bank  of  Chihli . . . 
Industrial  Development  Bank  of  China . .  . 

Ta  Lung  Bank . 

The  National  Industrial  Bank  of  China . . . 

Kincheng  Commercial  Bank . 

Tsung  Fu  Union  Bank . 

The  Continental  Bank . 

Ta  Sun  Bank . 

Tung  Commercial  Bank . 

Fengtien  Hsin  Yi  Bank . 

Bank  of  Manchuria . 

Fu  Shang  Bank  of  Harbin . 

Harbin  Savings  Bank . 

Harbin  Commercial  Bank . 

National  Commercial  Bank . 

Shanghai  Commercial  &  Savings  Bank 

Ningpo  Commercial  Bank . 

Yung  Hung  Banking  Cor . 

Chung  Hwa  Commercial  &  Savings  Bank . 

Commercial  Bank  of  China . 

Kiangsu  Bank . 

Wah  Foo  Commercial  Bank . 

Tsung  Lu  Commercial  &  Savings  Bank . .  . 

Ching  Feng  Bank . 

Hwa  Foong  Bank . 

Modern  Citizens’  Bank . 

Dah  Foon  Savings  Bank . 

Hui  Hai  Industrial  Bank . 

Tsung  Lee  Bank . 


Head  Office 
Peking 


<  ( 

( i 
1 1 
c  i 
t  ( 
t  ( 

1 1 
1 1 
< 1 
C  l 

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i  ( 

( ( 

1 1 
( i 


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Harbin 

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1 1 

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1  This  list  is  far  from  complete,  but  it  is  believed  that  all  important  banks  are 
included. 


Appendix  585 

Banking  in  China — Continued 

Name  Head  Office 

Soochow  Bank .  Soochow 

Tung  Lai  Bank . Tsingtao 

Young  Brothers  Banking  Cor .  Chungking 

Ta  Chung  Bank .  “ 

Tsinan  Tung  Hui  Bank .  Tsinan 

Shantung  Bank .  “ 

Industrial  &  Commercial  Bank .  “ 

Chi  Lu  Bank .  “ 

Neng  Ta  Commercial  &  Savings  Bank .  11 

Agricultural  Savings  Bank .  Weihaiwei 

Territorial  Bank .  Hankow 

The  Hunan  Bank .  “ 

Wei  Fung  Commercial  Bank .  “ 

Wei  Tung  Bank .  “ 

Chung  Chuin  Yuen  Bank .  u 

Teh  Sing  Bank .  ‘  ‘ 

Fu  Hua  Savings  Bank .  Changchow 

Chang  Chow  Commercial  Bank .  “ 

Szeshui  “Chung  Hwa”  Bank .  Szeshui 

Bank  of  Hunan .  Changsha 

Yii  Hsiang  Bank .  “ 

Nanchang  Chang  Shang  Bank .  Nanchang 

Bank  of  Kiangsi .  u 

Chekiang  Industrial  Bank .  Hangchow 

Taovih  Banking  Cor .  “ 

Chekiang  Chu  Feng  Bank .  “ 

Bank  of  Fukien .  Foochow 

Amoy  Commercial  Bank .  Amoy 

Tai  Yau  Bank .  Hongkong 

Ming  Sun  Bank .  11 

Soy  Kut  Bank . . .  “ 

Wui  Loong  Bank .  “ 

Yut  Cheung  Bank .  “ 

Bank  of  Canton .  11 

Bank  of  Kwangsi .  Wuchow 

Fu  Tien  Bank .  Yiinnanfu 

Feng  Yi  Bank .  Kweisui 


586 


Appendix 


The  Press  in  China 

Noth. — The  number  of  periodical  publications  in  China  is  very  great.  There 
are  over  eight  hundred  listed,  of  which  all  but  a  very  few  are  daily  newspapers  in 
the  vernacular.  The  following  list  is  believed  to  include  those  in  which  the  readers 
of  this  volume  are  likely  to  be  interested. 

Peking: 

The  Peking  Leader  (English  Daily)  (Chinese-owned). 

The  Peking  Evening  News  (English  Daily) 

The  Peking  Daily  News  (English) 

The  North  China  Standard  (English  Daily)  (Owned  by  Japanese). 
The  Peking  Times  (English  Daily). 

Le  Journal  de  Pekin  (French  Daily). 

Kuang  Pao  (Chinese  Daily).  Chinese  edition  of  the  Evening 
News. 

Shun  Tien  Shih  Pao  (Chinese  Daily)  (Japanese-owned)  and  68 
other  dailies  in  Chinese  in  Peking. 

The  Chinese  Social  and  Political  Science  Review  (English  Monthly) 
(Chinese-owned) . 

La  Politique  de  Pekin  (French  Weekly). 

Tsing  Hua  Journal  (English  Monthly),  and  36  other  periodicals; 
weeklies,  fortnightlies  and  monthlies. 

Tientsin: 

The  Peking  and  Tientsin  Times  (English  Daily). 

The  North  China  Star  (English  Daily)  (American-owned). 

The  China  Critic  (English  Daily). 

North  China  Daily  Mail  (Evening,  English  Daily). 

The  China  Times  (English  Daily). 

The  China  Advertiser  (English  Daily)  (owned  by  Japanese). 

The  China  Tribune  (English  Weekly). 

Echo  de  Tientsin  (French  Daily). 

Tientsin  Jih  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

Tientsin  Daily  News  (English  Daily)  (Japanese-owned). 

China  Illustrated  Review  (English  Weekly). 

U Impartial  (French  Daily). 

And  ten  other  daily  papers  and  eighteen  weeklies  and  monthlies 
in  Chinese. 

Dairen: 

The  Manchuria  Daily  News  (English  Daily)  (Japanese-owned). 
The  Light  of  Manchuria  (English  Monthly)  (Japanese-owned). 

Harbin  : 

Novosti  Jisny  (Russian  Daily). 

Tung  Ya  Jih  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

And  seven  other  Chinese  dailies  and  one  other  Russian  daily. 


Appendix 


587 


Shanghai:  „ 

North  China  Daily  News  (English  Daily). 

North  China  Herald  (Weekly  edition  of  above). 

Shanghai  Mercury  (English  Daily). 

Celestial  Empire  (Weekly  edition  of  above). 

China  Press  (English  Daily)  (American  management). 

Evening  Star  (English  Daily). 

Shanghai  Times  (English  Daily). 

Shanghai  Gazette  (English  Daily)  (Evening  paper,  Chinese-owned). 
L'Echo  de  Chine  (French  Daily). 

Far  Eastern  Review  (English  Monthly)  (American-owned). 

The  Weekly  Review  (English  Weekly)  (American-owned). 

Chinese  Recorder  (English  Monthly)  (American-owned). 

China  and  Far  East  Finance  and  Commerce  (English  Weekly). 
British  Chamber  of  Commerce  Journal  (English  Monthly). 

Sin  Wen  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

Shanghai  Journal  of  Commerce  (Chinese  Daily). 

Shun  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

Shih  Pao  (“Eastern  Times”) — (Chinese  Daily). 

The  Universal  Gazette  (Chinese  Daily). 

And  seven  other  Chinese  dailies. 

The  Bankers'  Weekly  (Chinese  Weekly). 

The  Eastern  Magazine  (Chinese  Monthly). 

And  fifty-five  other  publications  of  varying  periodicity. 

Hankow  : 

Central  China  Post  (English  Daily). 

Hankow  Chung  Hsi  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

Hankow  Sin  Wen  Pao  (Chinese  Daily). 

And  eleven  other  Chinese  dailies,  and  five  Chinese  weeklies. 

Canton: 

The  Canton  Times  (English  Daily). 

Seventy-two  Guilds  Press  (Chinese  Daily). 

And  thirty-nine  other  Chinese  dailies,  and  fifty-hwo  other  Chinese 
publications  of  varying  periodicity. 

Hongkong: 

Hongkong  Daily  Press  (English  Daily). 

South  China  Morning  Post  (English  Daily). 

Hongkong  Telegraph  (English  Daily— Evening). 

China  Mail  (English  Daily— Evening). 


588 


Appendix 


Exchange  Fluctuations 

Note. — The  money  of  China  consists  of:  (1)  brass  cash,  each  worth  about 
one-twentieth  of  a  cent,  U.  S.  currency;  (2)  of  copper  coins,  each  worth  about  a 
half-cent,  and  (3)  of  a  silver  dollar  and  its  fractions,  the  dollar  being  of  the  weight 
and  fineness  of  a  Mexican  dollar  and  equivalent  to  about  U.  S.  $0.55  in  exchange 
transactions.  There  is  also  a  great  deal  of  silver  bullion  used,  whose  value  is 
estimated  in  taels.  The  tael  is  not  coined,  and  it  varies  in  weight  and  fineness  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  The  customs  tael,  used  in  levying  and  collecting 
duties  on  imports  and  exports,  is  theoretically  of  a  fineness  of  1,000  and  a  weight  of 
583  3  grains.  There  is  no  such  silver  in  current  use,  so  that  it  follows  that  in  paying 
duties  the  sum  due  must  be  converted  into  the  local  currency.  Generally  speaking 
this  is  a  double  process;  the  customs  taels  are  changed  into  local  taels  and  these 
into  local  dollars,  the  commonly  used  currency.  Since  the  Chinese  currency  is  not 
based  upon  a  gold  standard,  its  value  in  the  currencies  of  the  western  world  changes 
from  day  to  day,  sometimes  with  very  disastrous  results  to  trade.  The  following 
table  records  the  value  of  the  customs  tael  in  the  monies  of  Europe,  America  and 
Japan  and  its  relation  to  the  Chinese  dollar  during  the  years,  1912-1921.  The 
table  is  taken  from  the  Maritime  Customs  Report  for  1921. 


Year 

Amer¬ 

ican 

Money 

British 

Money 

French 

Money 

Ger¬ 

man 

Money 

Indian 

Money 

Japan¬ 

ese 

Money 

Rus¬ 

sian 

Money 

Mexican, 

Yuan,  i.  e. 

or  Chinese 

Dollars 

Gold  $ 

s. 

d. 

Frc. 

Mks. 

Rup. 

Yen. 

Roub. 

$ 

1912 

0.74 

3 

Of 

3.85 

3.12 

2.27 

1.49 

1.45 

1.52 

1913 

0.73 

3 

01 

3.81 

3.08 

2.25 

1.47 

1.44 

1.51 

1914 

0.67 

2 

8i 

3.45 

2.79 

2.04 

1.34 

1.36 

1.47 

1915 

0.62 

2 

n 

3.39 

2.67  1 

1.95 

1.25 

1.63  1 

1.41 

1916 

0.79 

3 

4.63 

3.68 

2.46 

1.54 

2.52  1 

1.54 

1917 

1.03 

4 

3H 

5.94 

4.78 1 

3.11 

1.98 

5.08 1 

1.63 

1918 

1.26 

5 

3tV 

7.11 

•  •  •  • 

3.55 

2.37 

.... 

1.61 

1919 

1.39 

6 

4 

10.12 

•  •  •  • 

3.54 

2.72 

1.68 

1920 

1.24 

6 

17.79 

•  •  •  • 

3.34 

2.38 

1.58 

1921 

0.76 

3 

HiV 

10.29 

.... 

2.92 

1.57 

•  •  •  • 

1.50 

1  Shanghai  customs’  rate. 


Other  Taels 

The  Shanghai  tael  contains  565.65  grains  of  silver  and  is  reckoned 
as  944  fine  111.40  Shanghai  taels  are  equivalent  to  100  Haikuan  or 
customs  taels. 

The  Kuping  Tael  is  the  treasury  tael  at  Peking,  575.8  grains  of 
silver  1000  fine.  Of  this  money  of  account  it  takes  101.642  taels 
to  equal  100  Haikuan  taels,  and  100  Kuping  taels  are  equivalent  to 
109.60  Shanghai  taels. 

The  Tientsin  tael  weighs  557.4  grains  and  is  992  fine.  105.215 
Tientsin  taels  equal  100  Haikuan  taels. 

The  Hankow  tael  weighs  554.7  grains  and  is  967  fine. 


Appendix 


5  89 


Currency  Table 


10  Hsien 

=  1  Wei 

10  Wei 

=  1  Hu 

10  Hu 

=  1  Ssu 

10  Ssu 

=  1  Hao 

10  Hao 

=  1  Li  (Cash) 

10  Li 

=  1  Fen  (Candareen) 

10  Fen 

=  1  Ch’ien  (Mace) 

10  Ch’ien 

=  1  Liang  (Tael) 

Table  of  Chinese  Weights 

1  Tael  or  Liang  =  583.3  grains  (If  oz.  Avoirdupois)  37.783 
grammes. 

16  Taels  =  one  Catty  (If  lbs.  Avoirdupois),  Chinese  name  Chin. 
100  Catties  =  one  Picul  or  Tan  (133f  lbs.  Avoirdupois)  60.453 
Kilos. 

Note. — These  equivalents  are  fixed  by  treaty  with  foreign  powers  and  are  legal 
in  all  dealings  affecting  foreign  trade,  but  they  are  not  generally  accepted  through¬ 
out  the  country.  There  are  many  Hang,  chin,  and  tan;  even  in  the  same  city  differ¬ 
ent  trades  have  different  standards.  The  Manchu  Government  before  its  downfall 
adopted  a  system  of  weights  and  measures  which  it  endeavored  to  make  uniform 
throughout  the  empire,  but  local  custom  was  too  powerful.  The  Republic  has  not 
been  any  more  successful,  but  when  China  shall  have  recovered  from  the  present 
strife  and  division,  it  is  probable  that  the  standards  will  be  gradually  adopted  by  all 
sections. 

Measures  of  Capacity 


Measures  of  capacity  vary  quite  as  much  as  those  of  weight. 
The  unit  is  the  Shih,  which  in  the  measurement  of  tribute  contains 
6292  cubic  inches.  This  is  divided  in  Chinese  official  calculations 
into  a  quadrillion  parts  according  to  the  table,  which,  like  nearly 
all  Chinese  tables,  is  a  decimal  one.  For  practical  purposes  it  is 
necessary  only  to  use  the  following: 


10  Ch’ao  = 
10  Shao  = 
10  Ko  = 
10  Sheng  = 
10  Tou  = 


1  Shao 
1  Ko 

1  Sheng  (pint) 
1  Tou 
1  Shih 


The  sheng  approximates  an  American  pint  or  a  French  litre* 
the  tou  is  frequently  called  a  peck  by  foreigners  in  China. 


Measures  of  Length 


By  treaty  the  foot  is  fixed  at  14.1  inches  English,  or  0.358  metre. 
In  common  use  it  varies  according  to  trade;  the  carpenter’s  foot  in 
many  places  is  12.5  inches  English,  the  tailor’s  foot  nearly  14 
inches. 


10  Fen 
10  Ts’un 
10  Ch’ih 
5  Ch’ih 

1800  Ch’ih  or  360  Pu 


=  1  Ts’un  (inch) 

=  1  Ch’ih  (foot) 

=  1  Chang 
=  1  Pu  or  Kung 

=  1  Li  (f  of  a  mile  approximately) 


590 


Appendix 


Measures  of  Area 

The  common  unit  for  the  measurement  of  land  is  the  mou,  which 
varies  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  for  rough  calculations 


may  be  taken  as  about  i  of  an  acre.  The  mou  is  divided  decimally. 

10  Hsien 

=  1  Wei 

10  Wei 

=  1  Hu 

10  Hu 

=  1  Ssu 

10  Ssu 

=  1  Hao 

10  Hao 

-  1  Li 

10  Li 

=  1  Fen 

10  Fen 

=  1  Mou 

100  Mou 

=  1  Ch’ing 

25  square  ch’ih  (feet) 

=  1  Square  Pu  or  Kung 

240  Square  Pu 

=  1  Mou 

Holidays  Commonly  Observed 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  the  Western  Calendar 
has  been  made  official,  but  the  people  generally  throughout  the 
country  continue  to  observe  the  holidays  according  to  the  ancient 
lunar  calendar.  According  to  the  latter  the  year  begins  with  the 
first  day  of  the  new  moon  after  the  sun  enters  the  constellation  of 
Aquarius.  Thus  it  may  fall  as  early  as  January  21  and  as  late  as 
February  19. 

The  Chinese  are  not  acquainted  with  a  weekly  division  of  time 
except  as  they  have  come  into  contact  with  western  people.  In 
Peking,  in  the  open  ports  and  in  some  of  the  provincial  capitals 
Sunday  is  now  observed  as  a  holiday  in  public  offices  and  in  the 
schools,  but  shops  do  not  close  as  a  rule.  Other  holidays  are  as 
follows : 

January  1,  Official  New  Year’s. 

Old  China  New  Year’s  Day,  variable,  shops  close  3  to  15  days. 

First  Moon  15th  day,  lunar  calendar,  Feast  of  Lanterns. 

March  21,  Vernal  Equinox,  worship  of  Confucius. 

Third  Moon,  1st  to  15th,  lunar  calendar,  Ch’ing  Ming  Festival. 
(Worship  of  ancestors  at  grave.) 

Fifth  Moon,  5th  day,  lunar  calendar,  Dragon  Boat  Festival. 
(Accounts  to  be  settled.) 

Seventh  Moon,  7th  day,  lunar  calendar  Festival  of  the  Herd 
Boy  and  Weaver  Girl. 

Seventh  Moon,  15th  day,  lunar  calendar,  All  Souls  Feast. 

Eighth  Moon,  15th  day,  lunar  calendar,  Moon’s  Birthday. 
(Settlement  of  Accounts.) 

September  21,  Autumnal  Equinox,  Worship  of  Confucius. 

October  10,  Anniversary  of  Revolution,  National  Holiday. 

Ninth  Moon,  9th  day,  lunar  calendar,  Ascending  the  Heights. 

Winter  Solstice,  Worship  of  Ancestors  in  Temple  or  Home. 


Appendix 


591 


Twelfth  Moon,  23rd  day,  lunar  calendar,  God  of  Furnace  reports 
to  Heaven. 

Twelfth  Moon,  30th  day,  lunar  calendar,  God  of  Furnace  returns, 
(Settlement  of  all  accounts). 

Foreign  banks  and  business  houses  in  the  ports  of  China  usually 
observe  their  several  national  holidays. 

Meteorological 

The  Roman  Catholic  Mission  (Society  of  Jesus)  at  Shanghai  for 
many  decades  past  has  kept  a  careful  record  of  meteorological  phe¬ 
nomena.  By  correspondence  with  observers  in  other  parts  of  the 
Far  East  the  station  at  Shanghai  has  been  able  to  make  a  study  of 
Chinese  meteorology  and  publish  valuable  forecasts  of  the  weather. 
Among  the  stations  along  the  coast  of  Asia  are  those  at  Vladivostok, 
Newchwang,  Shanhaikuan,  Tientsin,  Taku,  Chefoo,  Weihaiwei, 
Tsingtao,  Tokyo,  Hankow,  Chinkiang,  Woosung,  Shanghai,  Gutz- 
laff,  Chenhai  (Ningpo),  Wenchow,  Santuao,  Foochow,  Taihoku 
(Formosa),  Amoy,  Swatow,  and  at  various  places  in  Japan. 

Mean  Temperature  and  Humidity  at  Shanghai  and  Hongkong 


Month 

Shanghai 

(Averages  of  34  yrs.) 

Hongkong1 
(Averages  of  24  yrs.) 

Tem¬ 

perature 

Humid¬ 

ity 

Tem¬ 

perature 

Maxi¬ 

mum 

Humid¬ 

ity 

January . 

37.4° F. 

80 

60°  F. 

79.3 

74 

February  . 

39 

79 

58 

79.1 

76 

March . 

46.2 

79 

62.7 

82.1 

83 

April . 

56 

80 

70.2 

88.6 

85 

May . 

64.2 

80 

76.8 

91.5 

83 

June . 

74.8 

84 

80.7 

93.6 

83 

July . 

79.6 

84 

81.8 

94 

82 

August . 

79.5 

84 

81.3 

97 

83 

September .... 

72.3 

84 

80.4 

94 

77 

October . 

63.2 

80 

76.3 

93.8 

71 

November .... 

52 

77 

69.2 

85.6 

65 

December .... 

41.6 

76 

62.7 

81.9 

66 

Average .... 

58.8° F. 

80 

71.6° F. 

.... 

77 

1  The  report  of  the  Hongkong  Observatory  for  Hongkong  for  35  years  varies 
slightly  from  this. 

Noxe. — The  highest  recorded  temperature  at  Shanghai  was  102.9  Far.  in  1892 
and  1894.  During  a  period  of  forty  years  the  thermometer  at  Shanghai  reached 
100  F.  eighteen  times  and  four  times  reached  102. 

The  above  table  based  upon  the  reports  of  the  Observatory  at  Sicawei,  Shanghai, 
is  taken  from  the  China  Year  Book  for  1910. 


592 


Appendix 


Mean  Barometric  Pressure* 


(Reduced  to  Freezing-point  and  Sea-level) 


Month 

Shang¬ 

hai 

Hong¬ 

kong 

Foo¬ 

chow 

Chung¬ 

king 

Chefoo 

Peking 

January . 

30.33 

30.16 

30.26 

30.22 

30 

20 

30.37 

February . 

30.28 

30.14 

30.24 

30.12 

30 

27 

30.21 

March . 

30.17 

30.06 

30.14 

30.06 

30 

17 

30.22 

April . 

30.00 

29.96 

30.00 

29.96 

30 

04 

30.05 

May . 

29.87 

29.86 

29.91 

29.81 

29 

85 

29.87 

June . 

29.74 

29.76 

29.78 

29.69 

29 

67 

29.67 

July . 

29.69 

29.73 

29.73 

29.64 

29 

59 

29.66 

August . 

29.73 

29.74 

29.75 

29.72 

29 

63 

29.79 

September . 

29.91 

29.84 

29.86 

30.00 

29 

82 

29.85 

October . 

30.11 

29.99 

30.02 

30.10 

30 

03 

30.14 

November . 

30.24 

30.11 

30.16 

30.19 

30 

15 

30.33 

December. . 

30.31 

30.19 

30.26 

30.32 

30 

17 

30.35 

Average . 

30.03 

29.96 

30.00 

29.97 

29. 

96 

30.04 

1  Report  of  Siccawei  Observatory,  from  China  Year  Book,  1923.  The  following 
meteorological  tables  are  from  the  same  year  book. 


Rainfall 


(Monthly  Average) 


Month 

Shanghai 

(1873-1902) 

Inches 

Hongkong 

(1884-1907) 

Inches 

Januarv . 

2.15 

1.41 

Februarv . 

2.29 

1.70 

March . 

3.21 

2.95 

April . 

3.59 

5.66 

Mav . 

3.60 

12.75  (48.84  max.) 
16.43  (34.37  max.) 
12.37  (28.23  max.) 
14.29  (27.86  max.) 
9.47  (30.60  max.) 
4.53 

1.51 

1.06 

June . 

6.66 

Julv . 

5.10 

August . 

5.94 

September . 

4.72 

October . 

3.31 

November . 

1.85 

December . 

1.18 

Mean  Annual . 

43.60 

84.13 

Appendix 

Meteorology  of  Peking,  1921 


593 


Month 

Barom 

eter 

January .... 

30.26 

February . .  . 

30.12 

March . 

30.04 

April . 

29.88 

May . 

29.69 

June . 

29.61 

July . 

29.57 

August . 

29.60 

September . . 

29.82 

October .... 

29.96 

November . . 

30.07 

December.  . 

30.09 

•'3 


Mean 
Tempera¬ 
ture,  0  F. 

Average 
Maxi¬ 
mum,  °  F 

27.0 

37.9 

31.8 

44.3 

40.7 

51.5 

55.8 

66.9 

67.9 

78.8 

74.8 

86.4 

81.5 

90.0 

75.9 

86.2 

70.0 

82.6 

56.5 

68.4 

39.1 

40.3 

29.1 

40.6 

Average 
Mini¬ 
mum,  °  F. 

Rainfall, 

Inches 

17.4 

0.02 

21.2 

30.0 

0.16 

44.2 

0.02 

55.6 

1.39 

63.7 

1.75 

70.5 

3.89 

68.5 

2.45 

59.0 

0.35 

45.1 

0.04 

23.9 

22.1 

Climate  of  Tientsin 

Tientsin  is  the  port  of  Peking,  86  miles  distant,  on  the  Hai  Ho, 
about  30  miles  from  the  sea.  Its  proximity  to  the  region  of  the 
Yellow  River  Valley  which  suffers  from  periodical  visitations  of 
drought  and  flood  makes  the  following  tables  relating  to  rainfall 
and  temperature  of  considerable  interest. 


Rainfall 


The  average  rain  and  snow-fall  in  Tientsin  for  30  years  has  been 
19.55  inches.  The  figures  by  years  are  as  follows: 


Year 

Inches 

Year 

Inches 

Year 

Inches 

1892 

21.40 

1902 

9.99 

1912 

31.32 

1893 

22.44 

1903 

15.95 

1913 

15.43 

1894 

30.50 

1904 

23.61 

1914 

26.57 

1895 

14.44 

1905 

19.48 

1915 

19.22 

1896 

23.57 

1906 

15.64 

1916 

21.61 

1897 

24.36 

1907 

16.25 

1917 

16.32 

1898 

15.88 

1908 

26.30 

1918 

19.93 

1899 

12.42 

1909 

14.65 

1919 

20.00 

1900 

12.35 

1910 

17.81 

1920 

11.06 

1901 

23.17 

1911 

25.71 

1921 

19.15 

594 


Appendix 


Temperature 

The  highest  and  lowest  temperatures  (Fahr.)  at  Tientsin  during 
20  years  beginning  in  1902  have  been  as  follows: 


Year 

Maximum 

Minimum 

1902 

113.0 

13.0 

1903 

102.0 

10.0 

1904 

102.0 

8.0 

1905 

102.0 

12.0 

1906 

105.0 

5.0 

1907 

104.0 

12.0 

1908 

104.0 

4.0 

1909 

107.0 

2.0 

1910 

103.0 

2.0 

1911 

96.0 

-4.0 

Year 

Maximum 

Minimum 

1912 

100.0 

4.0 

1913 

103.0 

2.0 

1914 

104.0 

2  0 

1915 

100.0 

-4.0 

1916 

104.0 

-4.0 

1917 

105.0 

0.0 

1918 

105.0 

7.0 

1919 

107.0 

-4.0 

1920 

108.0 

5.0 

1921 

102.0 

1.0 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  compare  the  meteorological  reports  from 
the  Yangtze  Valley  and  from  South  China  with  that  from  Peking 
for  1921. 


Meteorology  of  Hankow,  1921 


Month 

Barom¬ 

eter, 

Inches 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Maximum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Minimum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Mean 

Rain¬ 

fall, 

Inches 

January . .  . 

30 . 378 

60 

15 

37.5 

0.52 

February . . 

29.964 

83 

30 

56.5 

1.07 

March .... 

30.037 

86 

30 

58 

4.10 

April . 

30.037 

83 

38 

60.5 

14.02 

May . 

29.817 

92 

61 

76.5 

7.45 

June . 

29  705 

98 

64 

81 

18.16 

July . 

29.723 

103 

73 

88 

3.02 

August .... 

29 . 688 

103 

67 

85 

5.92 

September. 

30.003 

88.5 

58 

73.25 

7.74 

October .  .  . 

29 . 833 

82 

52 

67 

4.35 

November . 

30 . 145 

76 

40 

58 

0.50 

December.. 

30 . 205 

65 

34 

49.5 

0.83 

Appendix 

Meteorology  of  Chungking,  1921 


595 


Month 

Barom¬ 

eter, 

Inches 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Maximum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Minimum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Mean 

Rain¬ 

fall, 

Inches 

January . .  . 

29.96 

52.5 

43 

47.5 

0.26 

February . . 

29.55 

59.4 

46.4 

52 

0.42 

March .... 

29 . 47 

64.9 

50.5 

56.1 

2.04 

April . 

29.27 

75.6 

61.3 

68.7 

4.02 

May . 

29.16 

79.3 

69.1 

73.9 

8.23 

June . 

29.94 

83.9 

72.7 

77.7 

11.16 

July . 

28.77 

89.2 

77.5 

84.7 

8.83 

August .... 

29.08 

86.0 

75.9 

79.3 

10.28 

September . 

29.33 

74.5 

70.7 

74.3 

4.45 

October .  .  . 

29.47 

67.8 

62.8 

64.6 

3.37 

November . 

29.62 

62.6 

55.9 

59.4 

0.93 

December.. 

29.59 

56.9 

51.6 

53.6 

0.93 

Meteorology  of  Canton,  1921 


Month 

Barom¬ 

eter, 

Inches 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Maximum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Minimum 

Tempera¬ 
ture,  °  F., 
Mean 

Rain¬ 

fall, 

Inches 

January . .  . 

30.27 

63 

48 

54 

0.54 

February . . 

30.16 

68 

52 

59 

1.56 

March .... 

30.05 

70.2 

57.9 

63.3 

2.39 

April . 

30.01 

78.7 

66.7 

71.3 

1.45 

May . 

30.21 

86.2 

76.3 

77.5 

16.42 

June . 

29.63 

88.2 

75 

81.3 

9.28 

July . 

29.79 

90.7 

77.2 

83.1 

11.18 

August .... 

29.69 

89.3 

78.4 

84.2 

7.81 

September . 

29.91 

87.4 

73.6 

77.2 

12.67 

October .  .  . 

30.03 

85.7 

67.6 

75.6 

0.20 

November . 

30.16 

78.4 

58.8 

66.9 

0.54 

December.. 

30.20 

71.4 

55.6 

62.3 

0.39 

596 


Appendix 


Mean  Annual  Barometric  Pressure 

Shanghai  Hongkong1  Foochow  Chungking  Chefoo  Peking 

30.03  29.96  30  29.97  29.96  30.04 


Average  Rainfall  During  35  Years 

Shanghai  Hongkong 1  Peking 
44 . 1  inches  84.13  inches  25  inches 

1  The  report  of  the  Hongkong  Observatory  gives  for  that  port  as  the  mean  of 
35  years  barometric  pressure,  29.844,  rainfall,  83.83. 


Mortality  Statistics 
(Shanghai) 

Mortality  has  ranged  from  24.6  per  mille  in  1891  to  11.2  in  1905 
among  the  foreign  residents  of  Shanghai.  Including  Chinese  and 
non-residents  visiting  the  port,  the  figures  were  34.6  per  mille  in 
1902  when  cholera  prevailed  to  12.1  in  1906,  of  which  1.5  were  from 
zymotic  diseases.  In  1907  the  mortality  was  17.9  and  in  1908,  15.9. 


INDEX 


Actors,  social  status  of,  134-135 
Agricultural  implements,  109-110 
Agricultural  products,  variety  of, 
7,97-107 

Agriculture,  importance  of,  86  ff., 
113-117,  126 

Alchemy,  origin  and  spread  of, 
327-333 

All  Souls,  feast  of,  217-219 
Almanac,  the  Chinese,  77,  207-208 
Altai  Mountain  System,  the,  19- 
20 

Altyn  Tagh,  the,  20 
America,  beginning  of  trade  rela¬ 
tions  with,  356-360;  treaties 
with,  368-370,  371,  374,  390- 
392,  393-394.  See  United 

States 

American  Government,  attitude 
of,  toward  opium  trade,  352- 
353,  369-370,  374-375,  460-461, 
463-464;  toward  leased  terri¬ 
tory  in  China,  411-413,  423- 
424;  toward  currency  loan, 
454-456;  toward  Shantung 
question,  497,  506-507,  514- 
515,  516 

American  International  Corpora¬ 
tion,  railway  construction  by, 
blocked,  425-426 
American  Presbyterian  Mission 
attacked  by  mob,  120 
American  Red  Cross,  relief  ad¬ 
ministered  by,  159-160 
Americans  in  China,  regulations 
concerning,  548-549 
Amherst’s  mission  to  China,  363 
Amidhism,  religion  of,  296-297 


Ancestor  worship,  64-66,  253  ff. 
Anglo- Japanese  Treaty  of  Alli¬ 
ance,  425,  509-510,  516-517 
Angell,  President,  commission 
headed  by,  393 

Animal  resources,  7,  9,  10,  91,  108, 
109 

Annam,  former  dependency,  6,  7 
Anti-opium  reform,  458-464.  See 
Opium 

Arabs,  early  trade  with,  342-343, 
345;  Mohammedanism  intro¬ 
duced  by,  343,  344,  346;  poppy 
plant  introduced  by,  351 
Army,  445-448;  unpreparedness 
of  the,  406-407 

Arthur,  President,  cited  on 
Chinese  immigration,  393 
Artisan  guilds,  189-193,  194 
Assemblies,  provincial,  469 
Atmospheric  conditions,  591-592 

Ball,  Professor  C.  J.,  cited  on 
ideographic  writing,  36,  40 
Bankers’  Guild  of  Shanghai,  the, 
194,  195 

Banking,  583-585 
Banner-men,  456,  485 
Bean  curd,  uses  of,  174-175 
Beresford,  Sir  Charles,  cited,  4ll 
Betrothal,  customs  of,  75-76 
Bhutan,  former  tributary,  2,  6 
Bigamy,  lawful,  74 
Birthday  of  the  Republic,  holiday 
of  the,  220-221 
Board  of  Music,  264 
Board  of  Rites,  208,  209,  264 
Bodhidharma  Sect,  229-301 


598 


Index 


Book  of  Odes,  poem  quoted  from, 
81 

Boundaries,  Treaties  of  1907, 
1910,  and  1912  on,  4  n. 

Boxer  indemnity,  return  of,  by 
United  States  Government,  444 
Boxer  Rising,  the,  62,  72,  139,  206, 
•  363,  368,  369,  394,  414-423,  437, 
440,  443,  447,  547,  552 
Boycott  of  American  trade,  394- 
395 

Brass  work,  industry  of,  168 
Brigandage,  124,  527,  528 
British,  arrival  of  the,  in  China, 
350-353 

British  and  French  attack  on 
forts  at  Taku,  372-373 
British  Anti-opium  Society,  462 
British  East  India  Company,  350, 
351,  352,  353,  365,  366 
British  Government,  attempts 
made  by,  to  improve  early 
trade  relations,  361  ff. 

Bronze  making,  168 
Buddha,  story  of,  290-293;  Greek 
influence  on  images  of,  340 
Buddhism,  Chinese,  134,  146,  157- 
158,  289;  story  of  founder,  290- 
293;  ethics  of,  293-294;  propa¬ 
ganda,  294-295;  Amidhism, 

296- 297;  worship  of  Kwanyin, 

297- 299;  Bodhidharma  sect, 
299-301;  Lamaism,  301-302; 
transmigration,  302-304;  tem¬ 
ples  and  services,  304-307;  lay 
membership,  307-308;  initia¬ 
tion  into  monkhood,  308-310; 
influence  of,  in  China,  310-312; 
charities,  157-158,  312-313;  re¬ 
formed  sects  of,  313-314;  atti¬ 
tude  toward  militarism,  314- 
315;  spread  of,  343 

Buddhist  feast  of  All  Souls,  217- 
219 

Burlingame,  Anson,  valuable  ser¬ 
vices  of,  to  China,  389-392, 
403 

Burmah,  early  dependency,  6 


“Bushel  Mother,”  worship  of  the, 
220 

Cables,  ownership  of,  519 
Calendar,  the  Chinese,  205  ff. 
Cambodia,  early  dependency,  6 
Canals,  15,  16 
Candle  making,  173-174 
Canton,  mentioned,  15-16,  17; 
celebrated  for  pottery  decora¬ 
tion,  176;  Mohammedan 
mosque  at,  343;  British  trade 
in,  350,  351,  353,  361,  365  ff., 
371 

Capitals  of  provinces,  571 
Cemetery  riot  of  1898  in  Shang¬ 
hai,  202 

Census,  taking  the,  135 
Ceylon,  early  dependency,  6 
Chang  Chih-tung,  author  of 
“Learn,”  414;  commissioner  of 
education,  64,  441 
Chang  Hsiin,  General,  512 
Chang  Po-hsi,  commissioner  of 
education,  64,  441 
Chang  Tso-lin,  526,  527 
Charities,  public,  157-160; 

Buddhist,  157-158,  312-313 
Ch’en  Ch’iung-min,  527 
Ch’ienlung,  Emperor,  305,  363 
Chihli,  province  of,  13;  farms  in, 
93 

Children,  question  of  guardian¬ 
ship  of  Oriental,  in  the  United 
States,  398 

“China,”  derivation  of  name,  50 
China,  territorial  boundaries  of, 
1  ff.;  forced  lease  of  territory 
in,  3-6,  408-411;  former  ex¬ 
tent,  6-7 ;  present-day  prov¬ 
inces  and  dependencies,  7-18; 
area  7,  12,  571;  mountain  sys¬ 
tems,  18-22;  sacred  mountains, 
22;  rivers,  22-24;  coastline,  24; 
plains,  24-25;  lakes,  25;  deserts, 
25-26;  climate,  26-27;  flood 
and  famine,  27-31;  earliest  in¬ 
habitants,  32,  51-53;  growth  of, 


Index 


599 


as  state,  51-53;  aggressive  pol¬ 
icy  of  Western  powers  in,  408- 
411;  at  the  Peace  Conference, 
513-516;  at  the  Washington 
Conference,  516-523;  present 
internal  condition  in,  526-528; 
early  foreign  trade,  341,  344, 
352-360,  530-531 
China  proper,  12 
China  Trade  Act,  550-551 
Ch’in  Dynasty,  mentioned,  50 
Chinese,  the:  pioneers,  36-38; 
origin,  39-40,  51;  traditions,  41- 
44;  fables  and  superstitions, 
44-48;  migrations,  48-51;  de¬ 
velopment  of  tribes,  51-53; 
early  penal  code,  55-56;  the 
family,  an  institution,  54-69; 
marriage  laws  and  customs,  70- 
85;  arrogance,  353,  363-364; 
exclusion  of,  392-395;  classes, 
456 

Chinese  civilization  introduced 
into  Japan,  343 

Chinese  Eastern  Railway,  per¬ 
mission  to  build,  granted  Rus¬ 
sia,  409 

Chinese  Exclusion  Act,  the,  393 
Chinese  state,  growth  of  the,  51- 
53 

Ch’ing,  Prince,  Premier,  394 
Ch’inghai,  population  and  govern¬ 
ment  of,  8 

Ch’ing  Ming,  the  observance  of, 
213-214,  258,  260-261 
Ch’inling  Mountains,  the,  21 
Chou  Dynasty,  mentioned,  41, 
49-50,  121,  187,  228,  231,  232, 
233,  450 

Chuang  Tzu,  Taoist  disciple, 
quoted,  323-326 

Ch’un,  Prince,  465,  467,  471,  473, 
477,  478 

Cities,  classification,  137-138; 
walls,  138-140;  general  appear¬ 
ance,  140;  streets,  141-143; 
homes,  143-145;  recreation 
grounds,  145;  temples,  145-146; 


sights  and  sounds,  146-149; 
street  lighting,  149;  water  sup¬ 
ply,  149-150;  public  utilities, 
150;  volunteer  associations, 
150-151;  government,  151  ff. 
Civil  service  examinations,  441- 
442 

Civil  war,  461.  See  Taiping  Re¬ 
bellion 

Clan  organization,  54,  60,  118  ff. 
Cleveland,  President,  cited  on 
Chinese  immigration,  394 
Climate,  9,  26-27,  591-592 
Cloisonne,  manufacture  of,  166- 
167 

Coast  line,  the,  24,  579 
Cobbett,  quoted  on  “sphere  of 
influence/’  430 

Co-hong,  monopoly  of  the,  361, 
367 

College  of  Astronomy,  the,  206- 
207,  208 

Colleges,  establishment  of,  443- 
445.  See  Education 
Collins,  Dr.,  cited  on  increased 
poppy  cultivation  in  India,  463 
Color,  symbolic,  269-270,  271,  272 
Colquhoun,  Archibald,  cited  on 
early  tribes,  52 
Commerce,  352-360,  538-540 
Commission  on  Juridical  Reform, 
449 

Community  guilds,  199-201 
Concubinage,  71-74,  458,  466 
Conference  on  Limitation  of  Ar¬ 
mament,  1 

Confucius:  birthplace  of,  13; 
mentioned,  55;  quoted,  210, 
225,  226,  233,  234,  235,  236,  237, 
240,  241,  253;  family  of,  223- 
224;  early  boyhood,  225;  mar¬ 
riage,  225;  character,  226-227; 
visit  to  the  capital,  227-231; 
official  career,  234-238;  exile, 
238;  literary  work,  241-244; 
death  and  canonization,  244- 
248 

Confucianism,  religious  nature  of. 


600 


Index 


249-251;  sacred  books,  251- 
253;  private  worship,  253-255; 
ancestral  temples,  256-258;  rites 
at  the  grave,  258-261;  worship 
at  winter  solstice,  261;  evil  ef¬ 
fect  of  ancestor  worship,  261- 
262;  as  a  state  religion,  263; 
governing  bodies,  264;  beings 
worshiped,  264-265;  location  of 
temples  and  altars,  265-266; 
times  of  worship,  266-267; 
manner  of  worship,  267-269; 
sacrifices,  268-269;  symbolism, 
269-273;  music,  272-273; 
meaning  of  sacrifice,  273-275; 
the  Temple  of  Heaven,  275- 
282;  worship  at  shrines,  282- 
286;  attempts  to  revive,  286- 
287 ;  ethics,  287-288 
Conger,  United  States  Minister, 
424 

Constitutional  reform,  464-465, 
492-493 

Consular  functions,  548-549 
Consulates,  American,  580 
Convents,  women  of  the,  84-85 
Coolie  traffic,  348,  392 
Copyrights,  protection  of,  549- 
550 

Coroner,  functions  of  the,  155-157 
Coroner’s  Guide,  the,  quoted,  156, 
157 

Cottage  industries,  breaking  up 
of,  164  ff. 

Cotton,  cultivation  of,  and  trade 
in,  165,  180-181,  185,  358,  534 
County  magistrate,  151 
Coup-d’etat  of  1898,  story  of  the, 
415-418 

Court,  the  Imperial,  flight  of,  in 
1898,  434-435;  return  of,  in 
1902,  435-438 

Court  at  Peking,  hostility  of  the, 
371 

Court  of  Sacrificial  Worship,  264, 
267 

Courts,  extraterritorial,  453-454 
Courts  of  law,  the  village,  127- 


128;  administrative,  160-162; 
establishment  of  new,  452; 
inadequacy  of  foreign,  453 
Craft  guilds,  189-193,  194 
Craftsman,  the,  164  ff. 

Criminal  code,  early,  55-56,  152; 

revision  of,  451-452 
Crops,  cultivation  of,  96-97 
Currency,  standard,  195-196,  588- 
589 

Currency  loan,  negotiations  for, 
454-456 

Currency  reform,  454-456 
Cushing,  Caleb,  first  American 
treaty  negotiated  by,  368,  369 
Customs,  control  of,  determined, 
387-388;  abandonment  of  old, 
478-480 

Dalai  Lama,  the,  8,  301,  302 
Dashilumpo  Lama,  the,  301,  302 
Dates  in  Chinese  history,  im¬ 
portant,  555-560 
Davies,  H.  R.,  quoted  on  early 
tribes,  53 

Deforestation,  30-31 
Democratic  tendencies  of  old  in¬ 
stitutions,  66,  121,  136,  204 
Dependencies,  government  of,  8 
Deserts,  25-26 

Dhammapada,  the,  quoted,  293- 
294 

Diplomatic  relations  with  out¬ 
side  powers,  beginnings  of,  387, 
388 

Distances,  along  the  coast,  579; 
on  the  Yangtze  River,  580;  by 
railway,  580 
Divorce,  laws  of,  82-83 
Domestic  life,  effect  of  new  in¬ 
dustrialism  on,  164 
Dragon,  the,  no  longer  a  popular 
symbol,  160 

Dragon  boat  festival,  the,  214-215 
Drama,  Chnese,  135 
Dress,  legislation  concerning,  479- 
480 

Droughts,  27  ff. 


Index 


601 


Dust  storms,  9 

Dutch,  relations  of  the,  with 
China,  349 

Duties,  uniformity  of,  estab¬ 
lished,  524 

Duty,  collection  of,  388 
Dyes,  production  of,  102,  166, 
178-179 

Dynasties,  respect  for  former, 
483-484.  See  Ch’in,  Chou, 
Han,  Manchu,  Ming,  Mongol, 
Shang,  Sung,  T’ang 

Eclipses,  208 
Economic  changes,  164  ff. 

Edkins,  Rev.  J.,  cited  on  the 
poppy,  101-102 

Education,  89,  133-134;  begin¬ 
ning  reform  in,  440;  old  sys¬ 
tem  of,  441-442;  new  system, 
442-445;  statistics  of,  582 
“Eighteen  Provinces, ”  the,  7-8, 
12 

Eighth  Moon,  festival  of  the,  205, 
219-220 

Elders,  the  village,  130,  132,  133, 
135,  151 

Electric  lights,  introduction  of, 
185 

Eleventh  Moon,  festival  of  the, 
001—000 

Elgin,  Lord,  372,  374 
Embroideries,  166 
Emigration,  early,  36 
Emperor,  the.  See  Kuanghsu 
Empress  Dowager.  See  Tzu-hsi 
“  Empress  of  China,”  sailing  of 
the,  356 

Ethics,  Buddhist,  293-294;  of 
Taoism,  320-323,  338 
“Ever- Victorious  Army,”  the,  383, 
384,  385 

Examinations,  old  system  of,  441- 
442;  abandonment  of,  444 
Exchange  fluctuations,  588 
Exclusion,  reasons  for,  393,  399- 
400;  unfairness  of  law  of,  402, 
403 


Exports,  536-538 
Extraterritoriality,  362,  367,  370, 
449-454,  548 

Fables  and  superstitions,  44-47 
Factories,  164,  185,  358 
Fa  Hsien,  Buddhist  monk,  46 
Family,  institution  of  the,  54  ff. 
Family  government,  66-67 
Fans,  exportation  of,  173 
Farm,  a  model,  91-92 
Farmer,  the,  86  ff.;  patron  saint, 
86-87;  poverty,  87-88;  the 
country  village  and,  88-91; 
land  tenure,  92-94;  living  con¬ 
ditions,  93-94;  taxation,  94-96; 
water  farming,  107-108;  poul¬ 
try  raising,  108-109;  imple¬ 
ments,  109-110;  market  days, 
110-113;  agricultural  distress, 
113-117 

Feast  for  Hungry  Ghosts,  217-219 
Feng,  General,  526 
Feng  Kuo-chang,  President,  513 
Festivals,  205  ff. 

Fifth  Moon,  festival  of  the,  205, 
214 

Fire  companies,  150 
Fire  crackers,  175-176 
Fish  culture,  107-108 
Five-Power  Group,  reorganization 
loan  negotiated  with,  489 
Flood  and  famine,  12,  27-31 
Flour  mills,  165,  185 
Foochow,  paper  mills  in,  173 
Foot-binding,  abandonment  of, 
443,  479 

Forbidden  City,  the,  141,  265-266 
Foreign  mission  statistics,  582 
Foreign  trade,  533  ff. 

Form,  symbolism  of,  270,  271,  272 
Formosa,  6,  408 
Foster,  J.  W.,  cited,  368 
Four-Power  Group:  railway  con¬ 
tract  signed  with,  426-427; 
currency  loan  negotiated  by, 
455;  railway  loan  contracted 
with,  471-472;  reorganization 


602 


Index 


loan  negotiated  with,  488;  be¬ 
comes  six-power  group,  489 
Foxes,  superstitious  fear  of,  336 
France,  spheres  of  interest  of,  6, 
17,  410,  431;  treaties  with,  371, 
374;  intervention  of,  in  war 
with  Japan,  408;  reward  de¬ 
manded  by,  410;  forced  an¬ 
nexation  of  territory  by,  431; 
agreement  of,  with  Japan  over 
Shantung,  509 

Freight  rates,  variation  in,  428  ff. 
French  Indo  China,  6,  431 
Fukien  Province,  general  charac¬ 
ter  of,  15,  16;  polyandry  in,  74- 
75;  chief  tea  port,  172;  interest 
of  Japan  in,  410 
Funeral  rites,  148,  254,  258-261 

Gardens,  public,  145 
“Gentleman’s  Agreement,”  the, 
396,  398,  403 

George,  Henry,  cited  on  taxes,  94 
George,  Lloyd,  cited  on  Shantung 
Agreement,  509,  511,  515 
Germany,  aggression  of,  13,  409, 
411-412,  413-414,  420,  498, 
499,  500,  503,  504,  516,  521; 
intervention  of,  in  war  with 
Japan,  408,  409 

Giles,  H.  A.,  cited  on  origin  of 
Chinese  people,  40,  41;  on 
Chuang  Tzu,  323 
Girls,  education  of,  443 
Glass  making,  introduction  of, 
into  China,  529 

“Going  up  on  a  high  place,”  fes¬ 
tival  of,  220 

Gordon,  Major  Charles  George, 
Commander  of  the  “Ever- 
Victorious  Army,”  377,  384-385 
Government:  provincial,  8;  mu¬ 
nicipal,  151  ff.;  the  guilds  and, 
201-204;  causes  for  reform  of, 
414  ff. 

Graham,  A.  W.,  quoted,  52-53 
Grand  Cgmal,  controversy  over, 
427 

.  •*.  >  i 


Grass  cloth,  manufacture  of,  169- 
170 

Great  Britain:  attitude  of,  toward 
Tibet,  2;  former  dependencies 
of  China  now  belonging  to,  2, 
6;  treaties  with,  2,  367,  371, 
374;  harbor  of  Weihaiwei  to  be 
returned  to  China  by,  13;  early 
trade  with,  350-353;  open¬ 
ing  up  of  trade  by,  361  ff.; 
“Opium  War”  and,  366-367; 
Hongkong  ceded  to,  367 ;  second 
war  with,  370-374;  lease  of  land 
demanded  by,  410;  sphere  of 
interest  of,  410  ff.;  agreement 
of,  with  Russia,  respecting 
spheres  of  interest,  410-411; 
forced  lease  of  territory  by,  431; 
sale  of  morphia  by,  to  Japan, 
462;  agreement  of,  with  Japan 
over  Shantung,  509;  Council 
of  the  Empire  in,  516,  517 
Great  Guild  of  Newchwang,  the, 
199,  201 

Great  Wall,  the,  13-14,  50 
Greece,  influence  of,  339-341 
Guest  house,  the,  133 
Guilds,  organization  of,  187-188, 
204;  the  craft,  189-193;  the 
merchant,  193-197;  provincial, 
197-199;  community,  199-201; 
power  of  the,  201-204 


Hague,  The,  International  Anti¬ 
opium  Conference  at,  460-461 

Hainan,  Island  of,  17,  410;  jewelry 
made  on,  175 

Hall,  quoted  on  extraterritoriality, 
450 

Handicraft,  164 

Han  Dynasty,  mentioned,  51,  171, 
245,  330,  334 

Hangchow,  fans  made  in,  173 

Hankow,  great  tea  port,  172; 

noted  for  pewter  ware,  173 
Hart,  Sir  Robert,  services  of,  387— 
389 


Index 


603 


Hay,  Secretary  John,  quoted,  412, 
413,  423 

Hayes,  President,  immigration 
bill  vetoed  by,  393 
Hemp,  cultivation  of,  101 
“Herd  boy  and  weaver  maid,” 
folk  tale  of  the,  215-216 
Hioki,  Japanese  Minister  at 
Peking,  502,  503 

Hirth,  Dr.  Frederic,  quoted,  39, 
40,  41;  cited,  529,  530 
Holidays,  205  ff. ;  590-591 
Homes,  description  of,  143-145 
Hongkong,  British  colony  estab¬ 
lished  at,  6;  ceded  to  Great 
Britain,  367 
Horoscopes,  77-78 
Hosie,  Alexander,  cited  on  droughts, 
27-28;  on  insect  wax,  103 
Houses,  description  of,  140 
Hsianfu  in  Shensi,  capital,  at,  13 
Hsich’ing  Mountains,  the,  21 
Hsienfeng,  Emperor,  72,  373,  468 
Hsinkiang,  province  of,  8 
Hsiung  Nu,  the,  early  invaders,  10 
Hstiant’ung,  Emperor,  74,  466 
Hsiianyuan,  Emperor,  first  band 
of  emigrants  led  by,  36 
Hsu  Ching-cheng,  heroic  action  of, 
in  Boxer  Rising,  422 
Hsu  Jung-i,  Boxer  martyr,  422 
Hsu  Shih-ch’ang,  President,  496, 
513,  526 

Huang  Hsing,  General,  474,  481 
Huang  Ti,  Emperor,  migrations 
into  China  led  by,  48-49 
Hung  Hsiu-ch’tian,  Taiping  lead¬ 
er,  377-381,  382 

Huntington,  Ellsworth,  cited,  on 
climatic  changes,  28 
Hutukhtu,  the,  Ecclesiastic  of 
Urga,  3,  9,  301;  in  Peking,  304 
Hu  Yii-fen,  quoted  on  Peking 
coup-d’etat,  415 

Ideograms,  early,  36 
I  Ho  Ch’uan,  secret  society,  419 
I  Ho  Tuan,  secret  society,  419 


Immigration,  early,  49-51,  391, 
392,  393-394,  395-397 
Immortality,  Taoistic  belief  in, 
326,  327 

Imperial  College  of  Astronomy, 
206,  264,  266 

Imperial  Maritime  Customs,  wel¬ 
fare  promoted  by,  388 
Imports,  535-536 
Indemnities,  367,  374,  408,  402, 
424,  444 

India,  increased  poppy  cultivation 
in,  463 

Individualism,  growth  of,  62-63, 
64-65 

Industrial  conditions,  7,  164-176, 
400-403 

Infanticide,  57-58 
Inheritance,  laws  of,  58-60 
Ink,  manufacture  of,  173 
Inn,  the  village,  125,  133 
Insect  wax,  cultivation  of,  103- 
104 

Invoices  accompanying  American 
goods,  548 

Islands,  important,  24 
Isles  of  the  Blessed,  the,  328-329 
Italy,  land  interest  of,  410,  412, 
509 

Ito,  Prince,  cited,  404 

Jade  cutting,  167-168 
Japan,  assistance  offered  to  Mon¬ 
gol  government  by,  3;  position 
of,  in  Manchuria,  3-4,  5;  treaty 
between  Russia  and,  4  n.,  425; 
at  Washington  Conference,  5; 
arts  and  institutions  of,  de¬ 
rived  from  China,  7;  railways 
leased  to,  12;  relations  of,  with 
China,  343-344;  immigration, 
395-397;  effect  of  World  War 
upon,  401-402;  war  upon  China 
declared  by,  404;  cause  of, 
406  ff . ;  terms  of  peace  between 
China  and,  407,  408;  treaties 
with,  408,  500-506,  507-510, 
519;  spheres  of  interest,  410  ff.; 


604 


Index 


interest  of,  in  Fukien  Province, 
410;  special  interest  of,  in 
China,  429-430;  annexation  of 
territory  by,  432;  opium  smug¬ 
gled  into  China  by,  461-462; 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  plans  frus¬ 
trated  by,  495-496;  occupation 
of  Shantung  Peninsula  by,  dur¬ 
ing  World  War,  497  ff.;  Twenty- 
one  Demands  of,  500  If. ;  secret 
treaties  of,  507-510;  demands 
of,  at  Peace  Conference,  514- 
516;  at  Washington  Conference, 
516-518;  signs  treaty  with 
China,  518 

Japanese  Embassy  first  sent  to 
China,  343 

Japanese  Government,  opium 
monopoly  maintained  by,  in 
Formosa  and  Kiaochow,  462 
Jastrow,  cited  on  early  inhabi¬ 
tants,  35 

Jenks,  Jeremiah  W.,  currency  re¬ 
form  recommended  by,  454 
Jewelry,  manufacture  of,  175 
Jinghiz  Khan,  early  nomad  leader, 
8 

John,  Rev.  Griffith,  opinion  of 
religion  of  the  Taipings  cited, 
380,  381 

Joss-sticks,  manufacture  of,  174 
Jui-cheng,  Viceroy  of  Huknang 
Provinces  flees  to  Shanghai,  474 
Jung-lu,  Commander  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  army  of  the  Empire,  416- 
417,  422,  465 
Juridical  reform,  449 
Jute,  cultivation  of,  101 

K’aifengfu  in  Honan,  capital  at,  13 
K’ang  Yu-wei,  influence  of,  on 
Emperor,  414-415,  418 
Kearney,  Dennis,  agitation  against 
coolie  labor  by,  393 
Kettler,  Baron  von,  death  of,  422 
Kiangsi  Province,  pottery  making 
in,  170-172 

Kiaochow,  German  aggression  in, 


13,  409,  411-412,  413,  414,  420, 
498,  499,  503,  504,  516,  521 
King,  L.  W.,  quoted  on  early  in¬ 
habitants,  39 

Kitchen  God,  worship  of  the,  209- 

210,  211 

Kitchen  range,  superstition  with 
respect  to  the,  210 
Korea,  relations  of,  with  China, 
6,  7,  404-405,  406;  independence 
of,  won,  407;  murder  of  queen, 
407-408;  annexed  to  Japan,  432; 
Buddhist  monk  sent  to  Japan 
by,  343 

Kotow,  insistence  upon  the,  in 
Chinese  Court,  362,  363,  364 
Kowloon,  Peninsula  of,  ceded  to 
Great  Britain,  374,  410 
Kuangchou  Wan,  leased  to 
France,  6,  17,  410 
Kuanghsli,  Emperor,  72,  74,  414, 
435-438,  465,  467,  491 
Kuangsi,  Province  of,  17,  18,  23 
Kuangtung,  Province  of,  6;  gen¬ 
eral  character  of,  16-17 
Kuantung  Peninsula,  leased  to 
Russia,  409 

Kublai  Khan,  naval  expedition  of, 
343,  344 

Kung,  Prince,  action  of,  toward 
British  and  French  prisoners, 
373-374 

Kwanyin,  worship  of,  297-299 

Labor:  farm,  113;  conditions  of, 
184-185,  400-403;  Chinese  in 
the  United  States,  391-392; 
effect  of  immigration  on,  393, 
400 

Lace  making,  169-170 
Lacquer  tree,  104 
Lacquer  work,  industry  in,  167 
Lakes,  25 
Lamas,  304 

Lama  Sect,  the,  301-302 
Land  tenure,  92-94,  187;  by 

Orientals  in  the  United  States, 
397-399 


Index 


605 


Lansing-Ishii  notes,  the,  429,  510 
Lantern  festival,  the,  212-213 
Lao  Tzu,  founder  of  Taoism,  228- 
231,  316;  political  philosophy 
of,  319-320;  ethics  of,  320-323 
Laufer,  cited  on  pottery,  171 
Law  schools,  establishment  of,  452 
Lay,  Mr.  control  of  customs  by, 
388 

League  of  Nations,  China  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the,  516 

Leases  of  territory  to  European 
powers,  forced,  409-414,  420 
Legation  guards,  139,  420 
Legislative  power,  denied  to  As¬ 
sembly,  470-471;  granted  to 
Assembly,  476-477 
Liang  Ch’i-chao,  foremost  scholar, 
64-65,  415,  416,  418;  growth  of 
individualism  deprecated  by, 
64-65 

Liaotung  Peninsula,  the,  3,  5,  6, 
408 

Lien-yuan,  Boxer  martyr,  422 
Lighting,  street,  149 
Li  Hung  Chang,  commanded  to 
worship  serpent,  336;  execution 
of  Taiping  leaders  by,  385;  ne¬ 
gotiations  of,  between  China 
and  Russia,  408-410 
Li  Ki,  the,  quoted  on  relationship, 
68-69;  on  marriage,  70;  cited 
or  quoted,  224,  250,  251,  252, 
258,  260,  263,  273-274 
Likin ,  steps  looking  toward  the 
abolishment  of,  522-523 
Linear  unit  of  the  craft  guild,  192 
Li-shan,  Boxer  martyr,  422 
Literature,  increased  production 
and  circulation  of,  360 
Little  Sword  Society,  382 
Li  Yuan-hung,  Colonel,  cited, 
474;  president  of  the  federa¬ 
tion  of  provinces,  476,  482; 
Vice  President  of  the  Republic, 
493;  President,  497,  510,  511, 
512,  513 

Loan,  reorganization,  488-489 


Loochoos,  The,  dependencies,  6 
Loyang,  capital  at,  13 
Lungyii,  Empress,  72,  483,  490- 
491 

Macao,  a  Portuguese  colony,  17, 
348,  350,  357,  366 
Macartney’s  Embassy,  361-362 
Macgowan,  cited  on  guilds,  189  n., 
190  n.,  192 

Machinery:  introduction  of,  164; 
primitive,  165;  first  use  of 
steam-driven,  182;  evil  effects 
of,  183-185,  193 

McLane,  American  Commissioner, 
381 

Maclaren,  cited  on  Chinese  As¬ 
sembly,  470 
Ma  jongg,  129 

Makino,  Baron,  at  the  Peace 
Conference,  514-515 
Malacca,  former  dependency,  6 
Manchu  Dynasty,  mentioned,  60, 
61,  95,  120,  135,  152,  155,  171, 
192,  195,  245,  247,  249,  258, 
263,  266,  276,  277,  285,  350, 
351,  355,  378,  434,  450,  452,  456, 
457,  458,  485;  overthrow  of,  203, 
474,  481-484;  restoration,  512 
Manchuria,  3-6,  8,  11-12,  93; 
restored  by  Japan  to  China, 
408;  railway  concessions  in, 
granted  to  Russia,  409-410 
Manufacturing,  164  ff.,  551-554 
Maritime  customs,  387-388 
Market  days,  110-113 
Marriage,  70  ff.;  religious  sanc¬ 
tion  of,  70-71;  monogamy  and 
concubinage,  71-74;  lawful 
bigamy,  74;  polyandry,  74-75; 
betrothal,  75-76;  horoscope  and 
wedding  day,  76-78;  wedding 
day,  78-81;  impediments  to, 
83-84;  customs,  253 
Match  factories,  185 
Matting,  manufacture  of,  176 
Measures,  standard,  589-590 
Mencius,  cited,  13,  37,  86 


606 


Index 


Merchant  guilds,  the,  193-197 
Migration,  early,  32-33,  48-51 
Military  reform,  445-448 
Mineral  resources,  2,  7,  9,  11,  13, 
14,  16,  18 

Ming  Dynasty,  mentioned,  61, 
142,  170,  171,  270,  343,  350, 
351,  482,  484 
Ming  Ti,  Emperor,  295 
Mining  regulations,  551-552 
Missionaries:  Buddhist,  295,  340; 
Christian,  344,  348,  359-360, 
414,  420,  445 
Mission  statistics,  582 
Miura,  Viscount,  407-408 
Mohammedanism,  introduction 
of,  into  China,  343,  344,  346 
Mongolia,  independent  govern¬ 
ment  established  in,  2-3;  general 
character  of,  8-9 

Mongol  Dynasty,  mentioned,  135, 
343,  344,  345,  354,  484 
Mongols,  the,  355,  370,  456 
Monks,  initiation  of  Buddhist, 
308-310 

Moore,  Rev.  Aubrey,  cited,  323 
Morals,  64-66 

Morrison,  Dr.,  cited  on  provincial 
assemblies,  469 

Morrison,  Robert,  first  Protestant 
missionary,  359 

Morse,  H.  B.,  cited  on  opium 
traffic,  372;  quoted,  532 
Mortality  statistics,  592 
Mountains,  sacred,  22 
Mountain  systems,  18-22 
Mount  T’ai,  13 
Mukden-Antung  Railway,  5 
Municipal  election,  first,  465 
Municipal  improvement,  185-186 
Music,  sacred,  272-273,  281 

Nanking,  140,  145 
Nanling  mountain  range,  the,  21 
Napier,  Lord,  appointed  superin¬ 
tendent  of  British  trade,  365 
Napoleon,  cited  on  Chinese  court 
requirements,  364 


National  Assembly:  meeting  of 
first,  469;  legislative  power  de¬ 
sired,  470-471;  new  constitu¬ 
tion  adopted,  476-477;  legisla¬ 
tion  regarding  old  customs, 
478-480;  impeachment  trial  in, 
481;  permanent  parliament  de¬ 
cided  upon,  488 

National  Confucian  Convention 
at  Ch’iifu,  247 

Naturalization  laws  for  Orientals, 
397-398,  403 

Natural  resources,  7;  of  Mongo¬ 
lia,  9;  of  Turkestan,  10;  of 
Manchuria,  11;  of  the  North¬ 
ern  provinces,  13,  14;  of  the 
Yangtze  Valley,  14;  of  the 
Southern  provinces,  16;  of  the 
Southwestern  provinces,  18 
Nepaul,  former  tributary,  2,  6 
Nestorians,  the,  first  Christian 
missionaries,  344 
“New  Dominion,”  the,  8,  10-11 
New  Era,  beginning  of,  439  ff. 
Newspapers,  360,  586-587 
New  Year:  observance  of  the, 
205,  206,  207,  209-212;  lama 
service  at,  304 

Night  watchman,  the,  125-126 
Nine-power  Treaty,  cited,  1,  3,  6 
Ningpo  Guild,  the,  202 
Ninth  Moon,  feast  of  the,  220 
Northern  provinces,  general  char¬ 
acter  of  the,  12-14 
Notes  relating  to  non-alienation 
of  territory,  410-411 
Numbers,  symbolism  of,  270-271, 
272 

Nuns,  Buddhist,  84-85 

Oils,  vegetable,  174-175 
Open  cities,  541-543,  572-573 
Open  Door,  policy  of  the,  412,  413, 
424,  425,  428-432 
Open  ports,  542,  543 
Opium  poppy,  introduction  and 
cultivation  of  the,  101-102,  351, 
458,  463 


Index 


607 


Opium  trade,  the,  351-353,  366- 
367,  370,  371,  372,  374,  458- 
464,  532-533 

“Opium  War,”  the,  366-367 
Orientals  in  the  United  States, 
restrictions  toward,  397-399 
Out-castes,  class  of,  456,  457 
Oxenham,  E.  L.,  cited  on  land 
tenure,  93 

Pact  of  London,  the,  515 
Pantheon,  the  Taoist,  334 
Pao  i,  class  of  retainers,  457 
Paper  mills,  173,  185 
Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  taken  prisoner, 
373 

Parks,  145 

Parliament,  2,  8,  9,  488,  492-493 
Parthians,  early  trade  through  the, 
341-342,  529 

Patents,  protection  of,  549-550 
Pawn-shops,  importance  of,  87-88 
Peace  Conference,  411,  463,  510, 
513-516 

Peace  negotiations,  482-484 
Peasants,  poverty  among,  87-88, 
113-117 

Peking,  8,  13,  141,  142-143,  145; 
handicraft  in,  165,  166,  167,  168; 
the  Forbidden  City  in,  141,  265- 
266;  “Temple  of  Heaven”  in, 
270-282;  Ta  Kao  Tien  in,  336- 
337 

Peking  Gazette ,  the,  360 
Penal  code,  old,  55,  61,  161;  new, 
55,  162 

Peoples’  Revolutionary  Govern¬ 
ment,  in  Urga,  3,  9 
Pescadores,  taken  by  Japan,  6,  408 
Pewter  ware,  manufacture  of,  173 
Philippine  Islands,  diplomatic 
questions  concerning,  349-350 
Phillpotts,  Bertha,  quoted  on  clan 
instinct,  67,  118-119 
Philosopher’s  stone,  the,  326-327 
Plains,  24-25 
Police,  122-124 


Policy  of  the  Open  Door.  See 
Open  Door 
Polyandry,  74-75 
Pongee,  manufacture  of,  11, 14, 16, 
169 

Poppy,  cultivation  of  the,  101- 
102,  458,  463 

Population,  8,  12,  571,  581 
Porcelain,  the  making  of,  170-172, 
176 

Port  Arthur,  lease  of,  to  Russia, 
410 

Ports  and  cities,  opening  of,  350, 
351,  361  ff.,  374 

Portugal,  relations  of,  with  China, 
17,  347-349 
Potteries,  170-171,  176 
Pottinger,  Sir  Henry,  cited  on 
opium  growing,  367 
Poultry  raising,  108-109 
Poverty  of  the  peasants,  87-88 
President  of  the  Republic,  first 
election  of,  493-494 
Press  in  China,  the,  586-587 
Prince  Regent,  the.  See  Ch’un 
Prison,  the,  162-163 
Prison  reform,  452 
Provinces,  7  ff.,  10  ff.,  137-138 
Provincial  guilds,  197-199 
Provisional  government,  the,  485- 
487 

Publications,  586-587 
Public  school  system,  adoption  of, 
64,  133-134;  commission  ap¬ 
pointed  to  draft,  441;  curricu¬ 
lum,  443;  retarded  by  civil 
war,  445 

Pu-lun,  Prince,  Manchu  Presi¬ 
dent,  470,  471 

Pumpelly,  Raphael,  cited  on  early 
inhabitants,  32,  33,  34,  37 
Punishment,  vicarious,  61-62 
“Purple  Cow,”  the,  208 
Pu-yi,  Prince,  proclaimed  Em¬ 
peror,  465,  466 

Queue,  bill  introduced  in  Assembly 
to  abolish  the,  478-479 


608 


Index 


Railways,  development  and  lease 
of,  4,  4  n.,  5,  12,  15,  17,  18,  203, 
409,  410,  411,  426-427,  456,  471- 
474,  489,  507-508,  519-520, 

573-575,  580 

“  Rainbow  flag,”  introduction  of 
the,  160 

Ramie,  cultivation  of  the,  101 
Real  estate,  151 

Rebellion.  See  Taiping  Rebellion 
Recreation  grounds,  145 
Reed,  William  B.,  treaty  nego¬ 
tiated  by,  371-372 
Reforms,  influence  of  missionaries 
on  social  and  political,  359,  360; 
causes  for  government,  414  ff. ; 
beginning  of  era  of,  438;  char¬ 
acter  of,  439-440;  educational, 
440-445;  military,  445-448; 
juridical,  449;  extraterritorial¬ 
ity;  449-451;  criminal  code, 
451-452;  prisons,  452;  in  law 
schools  and  courts,  452;  cur¬ 
rency,  454-456;  abolition  of 
slavery,  456-458;  anti-opium, 
458-464;  constitutional,  464- 
465 

Reincarnation,  belief  in,  302-304 
Relationship,  67-69 
Religion:  village  feuds  brought 
about  by  differences  in,  132; 
freedom  of,  guaranteed,  374 
Republic:  birth  of  the,  482  ff.; 
recognition  of,  by  the  United 
States,  491-492 
Revolution  of  1911,  471  ff. 

Ricci,  Christian  missionary,  348 
Rice  growing,  109-110,  165 
Richard,  Rev.  Timothy,  cited  on 
land  tenure,  93 

Riots  in  railway  loan  controversy, 
473  ff. 

‘‘River  of  Heaven,”  myth  of  the, 
215-216 

Rivers,  12,  22-23 
Roads,  126-127 

Roberts,  Rev.  Issachar,  Christian 
missionary,  378 


Rockhill,  Hon.  W.  W.,  cited  on 
immigration,  394;  on  Korean 
controversy,  405;  on  Boxer  set¬ 
tlement,  424 

Rome,  early  commerce  with,  341- 
342 

Root-Takahira  notes,  policy  in¬ 
dicated  in,  425 

Ross,  Rev.  John,  cited  on  origin  of 
people,  40,  41;  on  taxes,  94 

“Royal  Regulations,”  the, cited, 37 

Rug  making,  166 

Russia,  authority  of,  in  Mongolia, 
2-3;  evacuation  of  Manchuria 
by,  3;  treaty  between  Japan 
and,  4  n.,  425;  boundaries  of, 
in  Central  Asia,  6-7 ;  control  of 
railways  by,  12;  early  relations 
of,  with  China,  353-356;  trea¬ 
ties  of,  with  China,  353,  371, 
372,  374,  375,  409;  advance’ of, 
in  Siberia,  354-356,  375;  inter¬ 
vention  of,  in  war  with  Japan, 
408-410;  railway  concession 
granted  to,  409-410,  411;  Kuan- 
tung  Peninsula  leased  to,  409; 
agreement  between  Great  Brit¬ 
ain  and,  respecting  spheres  of 
interest,  410-411;  attitude  of, 
toward  Open  Door  Policy  in 
Manchuria,  428;  forced  lease  of 
territory  by,  432;  agreement  of, 
with  Japan  over  Shantung,  509 

Russian  Federated  Soviet  Repub¬ 
lic,  3,  9,  513 

St.  Francis  Xavier,  348 

Sakatani,  Baron,  mentioned  for 
post  of  financial  adviser,  456 

Salt,  Shantung,  519 

Samsah  Inlet,  negotiation  con¬ 
cerning  lease  of,  to  United 
States,  413 

Schaal,  Adam,  Christian  mission¬ 
ary,  348 

Schools:  in  farm  villages,  89;  the 
village,  133-134;  for  girls,  443. 
See  Education 


Index 


609 


Scott,  Sir  George,  cited  on  early 
inhabitants,  52 

Sculpture,  influence  of  Greece 
upon,  339-341 

Secret  societies,  382,  418-419 
Sericulture,  99-101 
Seventh  Moon,  festivals  of  the, 
215-216,  217-219 
Seward,  Secretary,  cited  on  im¬ 
migration,  391,  403 
Sewing  machine,  introduction  of 
the,  182 

Seymour,  Admiral,  cited  on  Boxer 
Rising,  421 

Shang  Dynasty,  mentioned,  49- 
50 

Shanghai,  15;  cemetery  riot  in, 
202 

Shanghai  guilds,  control  exercised 
by,  195 

Shangs,  the,  State  founded  by,  49 
Shang  Ti  Hui,  society  of  the,  378 
Shan  Hai  King,  the,  ancient  rec¬ 
ord  of  traditions,  41,  42-48 
Shansi,  province  of,  13 
Shansi  Bankers’  Guild,  197 
Shantung,  birthplace  of  Confucius 
and  Mencius,  13;  farms  in,  93; 
handicraft  in,  169-170;  conces¬ 
sions  in,  granted  to  Germany, 
409;  to  Great  Britain,  410 
Shantung  Question,  the  411-412, 
497  ff.,  514-520 

Shantung  Railway,  disposition  of, 
519-520 

Shaw,  Major  Samuel,  American 
trade  relations  opened  by,  356- 
358;  journals  quoted  from,  531- 
532,  533 

Shen  Chia-pen,  appointment  of, 
to  Commission  on  Juridicial 
Reform,  449 

Sheng  Hsiian-huai,  Minister  of 
Communications,  cited  on  rail¬ 
way  loan,  473 
Shennung,  Emperor,  87 
Shidehara,  Baron,  quoted  on 
Twenty-one  Demands,  5,  525 


Shih  Huang  Ti,  Emperor,  Great 
Wall  built  by,  50 
Ships,  American  merchant,  358- 
359,  538-540,  543-544 
Shop  signs,  146 
Shrines,  worship  at,  282-286 
Shun,  mythical  emperor,  49,  86-87 
Siam,  a  former  tributary,  6,  7; 
early  tribes  in,  52-53;  territorial 
jurisdiction  in,  454 
Siamese,  progenitors  of  the,  52 
Siberia,  advance  of  Russia  in,  354- 
356;  ceding  of,  to  Russia,  375 
Siems  and  Carey,  railway  con¬ 
struction  contracted  with,  425- 
427 

Sikkim,  former  tributary,  2,  6 
Silk,  cultivation  and  manufac¬ 
ture  of,  99-101,  177-178,  185, 
534 

Silver  ware,  manufacture  of,  172 
Simla,  conference  at,  in  1913,  2 
Six-Power  Group,  America  with¬ 
drawn  from,  489 
Slavery,  abolition  of,  456-458 
Smith,  Goldwin,  cited  on  morals, 
64 

Smuggling,  351,  366-367,  461, 
531-533 

Society  of  Jesus,  missionary  work 
of  the,  348-349 
Soja  bean,  use  of,  175 
Soldiers,  the  professional,  123-124; 

under  old  regime,  446-447 
Southern  Provinces,  general  char¬ 
acter  of  the,  15-16 
South  Manchuria  Railway,  5 
Southwestern  Provinces,  federa¬ 
tion  of,  476;  general  character 
of  the,  18 

Spain,  early  relations  of,  with 
China,  349-350 

Spheres  of  interest,  4,  410  ff.,  424- 
433 

Ssu-ma  Ch’ien,  ancient  historian, 
41 

Steam  engine,  introduction  of  the, 
182-183 


610 


Index 


Steamship  companies,  576-578 
Stein,  Sir  Aurel,  cited  on  ancient 
ruins,  35,  340 

Sternberg,  Ungern  von,  Russian 
force  in  Urga  commanded  by,  3 
Strawbraid,  manufacture  of,  169 
Streets  and  roads,  126-127,  141- 
143,  146-149 

Students,  Boxer  indemnity  fund 
used  for,  445 

Sulu  Archipelago,  a  former  tribu¬ 
tary,  6 

Sumerians,  the,  35-36,  39-40 
Sun  Chia-nai,  Chinese  President 
of  National  Assembly,  470 
Sung  Dynasty,  mentioned,  352, 
483 

Sun  Yat-sen,  Dr.,  474,  482,  526- 
527 

Superstitions,  44-47,  335-338 
Swatow  Guild,  the,  200 
Symbolism  in  Confucianism,  269- 
273 

Szechuen  Guild  at  Peking,  203 
Szechuen  Railway  loan,  472-474 

Tael,  value  of  the,  196-197 
Taiping  Rebellion,  the,  376-386 
Taipings,  the,  379-381,  382,  383 
Ta  Kao  Tien,  Taoist  temple  in 
Peking,  337 

Tang  Dynasty,  mentioned,  333, 
346 

Tanneries,  185 

T’an  Tzu-t’ung,  young  reformer, 
416-418 

Taoism,  founder  of,  228-231;  the 
Tao  Te  King,  316-318;  political 
philosophy  of,  319-320;  ethics, 
320-323,  338;  possible  origin, 
323;  Chuang  Tzu,  disciple,  323- 
326;  degeneration  of,  326;  de¬ 
velopment  of  materialism  in, 
326-327 ;  origin  of  alchemy,  327, 
329-333;  legend  of  the  Isles  of 
the  Blessed,  328-329;  as  a  re¬ 
ligion,  333-334;  the  Pantheon, 
334;  evil  effects  of,  335-338 


Tao  Te  King,  the  book  of  Taoist 
philosophy,  316-318 
Tariff,  367-368,  374,  521-523, 
544-547 

Tashihlumpo  Lama,  the,  8 
Tatnall,  Commander  of  the  Pow¬ 
hatan,  372 

Taxation,  94-96,  136,  154,  361  ff. 
Tea  firing,  172-173 
Tea  house,  the  village,  128-130 
Tea  plant,  cultivation  of  the,  105- 
107 

Temperature,  591-592 
Temple  of  Heaven,  the,  141,  270, 
275-282 

Temple  of  Kelaniya,  289-290 
Temples:  village,  130-132;  city, 
145-146;  ancestral,  256-258; 
location  of,  in  Peking,  265-266; 
Buddhist,  304-307 
Terra  cotta,  manufacture  of,  172 
Territorial  boundaries,  1-2 
Territorial  integrity  of  China, 
390-392,  424-433 
Theater,  the  village,  134-135 
“ Three  Eastern  Provinces,”  the, 
11-12 

Tibet,  controversy  over,  2;  gen¬ 
eral  character  of,  8;  polyandry 
in,  74-75;  Buddhism  in,  301-302 
Tien  Ning  Monastery,  the,  141 
Tienshan  Nan  Lu  mountain  range, 
the,  20 

Tithing,  120-121,  151 
Titles,  grades  of  imperial,  484-485 
To  min,  class  of  pariahs,  457 
Tong  Shao-yi,  loans  negotiated  by, 
482,  488 

Tonquin,  former  tributary,  6 
Tools,  109-110,  165 
Trade,  early  foreign,  341-360,  529; 
opening  of,  361  ff.;  opposition 
to,  370-371;  supervision  of  for¬ 
eign,  388;  recognition  of  right 
to  regulate,  391;  modern,  531  ff.; 
foreign,  533  ff. 

Trade-marks,  protection  of,  549- 
550 


Index 


Gil 


Trade  routes,  control  of,  344-346 
Trade  symbols,  147 
Traditions,  41-44 
Transmigration,  belief  in,  302-304 
Transportation,  124, 126-127, 149, 
150,  177.  See  Railways 
Trans-Siberian  Railway,  409 
Treaties:  with  Great  Britain,  2, 
367,  371,  374;  with  Russia,  353, 
371,  374,  375,  406;  with  Amer¬ 
ica,  368-370,  371,  372,  374,  390- 
392,  393-394,  396-397;  com¬ 
mercial,  549;  with  France,  371, 
374;  with  Japan,  408,  500-506, 
507-510,  519;  secret,  507-510; 
commercial,  552 

Treaty :  of  Portsmouth,  3,  4  n. ; 
of  Nerchinsk,  353,  355;  of  Nan¬ 
king,  367,  368,  369-370,  371; 
of  Tientsin,  371,  374,  375,  406, 
514;  of  Aigun,  375;  of  1860, 
375;  of  1868,  390-392;  of  1880, 
393-394,  395;  of  1894,  394;  of 
Commerce  and  Navigation  be¬ 
tween  the  United  States  and 
Japan,  396-397;  of  Peace,  407; 
between  China  and  Japan,  re¬ 
specting  Korea,  408;  of  1912, 
461,  463 

Trees,  cultivation  of,  103,  104 
Triad,  secret  society  of  the,  382 
Tribes,  development  of,  51-53 
Tse,  Duke,  appointed  to  commis¬ 
sion  on  constitutional  reform, 
464 

Tsing  Hua  College,  445 
Tuan  Chi-Jui,  Premier,  511,  513 
Tuan-fang,  Viceroy:  education  of 
women  advocated  by,  443;  ap¬ 
pointment  of,  to  commission  on 
constitutional  reform,  464; 
given  command  of  forces  to 
suppress  rebellion,  474-475 
T’ungchih,  Emperor,  74 
T’ungchou,  development  of,  185- 
186 

Turkestan,  general  character  of, 

10-11 


Twenty-one  Demands,  the,  5, 
500  ff.;  525 

Tyler,  President,  letter  of,  to  Em¬ 
peror,  cited,  368-369 
Type,  introduction  of  movable 
metal,  360 

Tzu-hsi,  Empress  Dowager,  72, 
133,  246-247,  363,  415  ff.,  434- 
439,  449,  458,  465,  467-468,  470, 
496.  See  Yi 

United  States,  expression  of 
friendly  feeling  toward  China, 
374-375;  war  with  Spain,  412; 
attitude  of,  toward  settlement 
of  Boxer  Rising,  423-424;  cor¬ 
respondence  with  Russia  over 
Manchuria,  428;  policy  of,  in 
the  Far  East,  497,  498,  506; 
entrance  of,  in  the  World  War, 
510 

United  States  consulates,  548; 
list  of,  580 

United  States  Court  for  China, 
creation  of,  453 

United  States  marines  in  China, 
139 

Urga,  attack  on,  by  Russian  force, 
3 

Varnish  tree,  104 

Verbiest,  Christian  missionary, 
348 

Village,  the  country,  88-91 
Village  elders,  responsibilities  of, 
121-122,  126,  128 
Village  feuds,  132 
Village  republic,  the,  118  ff. 
Visher,  Stephen  Sargent,  cited,  28; 
quoted,  29,  30 

Vissering,  Mr.,  appointed  finan¬ 
cial  adviser,  455 
Volunteer  associations,  150 

Wages,  164,  192,  400-403 
Walls,  city,  138-140,  141 
Wang  Chung-hui,  Dr.,  quoted  on 
law  reform,  5,  5Q 


612 


Index 


Ward,  Gen.  Frederick  Townsend, 
assistance  rendered  China  by, 
376;  shrine  of,  in  China,  376- 
377;  sketch  of  life  of,  377;  ar¬ 
rest  of,  382;  success  of,  383- 
384;  honor  conferred  upon,  384, 
386 

Ward,  Minister  J.  E.,  quoted,  364; 
treaty  negotiations  undertaken 
by,  372 

Washington  Conference,  5,  13,  17, 
368,  432-433,  448,  453,  516- 
523,  547 

Water  farming,  107-108 
Water  supply,  city,  149-150 
Wax,  insect,  103-104 
Weaving,  179-180 
Webster,  Daniel,  first  American 
treaty  suggested  by,  368 
Wedding  customs,  77,  78-81,  148 
Weights  and  measures,  191-192; 
tables,  589-590 

Weihaiwei,  lease  of,  to  Great 
Britain,  13,  410 

Wen  Tun-ho,  tutor  to  Emperor, 
414 

Western  inventions,  evil  effects  of, 
183-185 

Western  mountains,  region  of  the, 
42-43 

West  River,  the,  15,  23 
Wheel-barrow,  the,  176-177 
Wheel-barrow  riot,  the,  202-203 
Widows,  83-84,  127 
Wieger,  Dr.  Leon,  cited  on  origin 
of  people,  40,  323 
Willoughby,  W.  W.,  on  “spheres 
of  influence/ ’  430-431 
Wilson,  President,  on  reorganiza¬ 
tion  loan,  489;  recognition  of 
Republic,  491;  Shantung  Ques¬ 
tion,  515 

Winter  solstice,  festival  of  the, 
221-222,  261 

Women,  status  of,  81  ff.;  employ¬ 
ment  of,  164;  education  of, 
443,  475 
Wood-oil,  104 


World  War:  effect  of,  on  Japan, 
401-402;  China’s  entrance  into 
the,  510,  513 

Worship,  Confucian:  time  of,  266- 
267;  manner  of,  267-269;  use 
of  music  in,  272-273 
Wright,  Dr.  Hamilton,  cited  on 
opium  reform,  460 
Wu,  Emperor,  great  conqueror, 
330-331 

Wuchang,  mutiny  at,  474 
Wu  Pei-fu,  General,  a  present-day 
leader,  526,  527 

Wu  T’ing-fang,  Dr.,  quoted  on 
military  reform,  445-446;  ap¬ 
pointed  head  of  Commission  on 
Juridical  Reform,  449;  meeting 
with  Tong  Shao-yi,  482 
Wylie,  cited  on  Chou  Dynasty, 
41 


Yangtze  Kiang,  the,  14,  23 
Yangtze  Valley,  general  character 
of  the,  14-15;  interest  of  Great 
Britain  in,  410 

Yellow  River,  12,  23,  24-25,  27, 
28,  30,  32,  216,  336 
Yen,  Duke,  lineal  descendant  of 
Confucius,  246,  247,  248,  514 
Yi,  Princess,  hostility  of,  toward 
foreigners,  373.  See  Tzu-hsi 
Yii,  the  Great,  12,  27 
Yiian-chang,  heroic  action  of,  in 
Boxer  Rising,  422 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  commanded  to 
execute  Jung-lu,  416-418;  ap¬ 
pointment  of,  as  governor,  420; 
opposed  to  policy  of  Empress, 
422;  in  return  of  court  to  Peking, 
438;  new  prison  erected  by,  452; 
first  municipal  election  held  in 
capital  of,  465;  degradation  of, 
466-467;  return  of,  to  power, 
477-478,  481;  funds  for  prose¬ 
cution  of  war  demanded  by, 
481-482;  commissioned  by  Em¬ 
press  to  establish  a  republic, 


Index 


613 


483,  484;  oath  of  office  admin¬ 
istered  to,  485-487 ;  on  reorgan¬ 
ization  loan,  488;  acceptance 
by,  of  President  Wilson’s  mes¬ 
sage,  492;  views  of,  concerning 
power  to  be  invested  in  Presi¬ 
dent,  492-493;  elected  first 


President  of  the  Republic,  493- 
494;  plans  of,  to  become  Em¬ 
peror,  495;  death  of,  496 
Yii-hsien,  missionaries  murdered 
by  order  of,  420 

Yung  Ho  Kung,  lamasery  in 
Peking,  304 


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Line  separating  the  Japanese  and 
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\Th»  Basd-HcNtlly  Ne»  Ubnry  Allu  M»p  of  Chin*  uni 

Copyright  by  Bud  Mf  S»Uy  A  Oompuy.  ChjMgo 

M*ur  IK  U.  S.  A. 


Longitude  East  |  from  Greenwich 


DS706  .W55 

China  yesterday  and  to-day 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1  1012  00135  3723 


